I 



1 




Seal of the United States. 



COURSE 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT, 



BASED ON 



"THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE 
OF THE UNITED STATES." 



BY f 

FRANCIS NEWTON THORPE, 

PROFESSOR OF CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 







FEP28 1894 



PHILADELPHIA : 

Eldredge & Brother, 

No. 17 North Seventh Street. 

1894. 






rs\ 



17^ 



3# 



..o^o ««, 

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1894, by ^ 

ELDREDGE & BROTHER, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 

0*0 as 



*- 



-* 



WESTCOTT <fe THOMSON, 
ELFOTROTYPERS, PHILADA. 



^" 




All that is sacred in life is inseparably bound up with 
government. Its nature is complex ; it implies rights and 
duties; it involves human lives and activities; its organ- 
ization is required of the whole people ; its administration 
is committed to their representatives. 

The story of the Government of the people of the United 
States has its beginning far away across the sea, and the 
story of political rights in England has its sequel in the 
story of political rights in America. Nor have these rights 
been accidental acquisitions : they are the fruits of Amer- 
ican experience, growing out of the instincts, the character 
and the attainments of the Anglo-Saxon race. 

In this work the Government is presented in its his- 
torical, its legal, its political and its economic relations. 
Movements in population, immigration, education, habits 
of thought among the people of various parts of the coun- 
try, inventions, discoveries, religion and public morality, 
have been considered as factors equally potent with for- 
mal constitutions and the enactments of legislative bodies 
in determining the character of our Government. 

The peculiar claim of popular government to universal 
authority is its identification with the great principles of 
civilization. It claims to be founded upon the rights of 
man and the principles of human nature, The chapter 



2 PREFACE. 

on " The Four Groups of Rights " is a departure in works 
of this kind, but it is believed that the time has come when 
the methods of political study pursued in the leading 
schools of history and political science may be pursued 
in all other schools in the United States. 

Nothing in government is meaningless ; we live amidst 
an intense political life. As the face on the postage-stamp 
signifies an executive power delegated by the people, so 
upon examination will many common civil phenomena 
illustrate profound principles in popular government. It 
is more desirable to understand the principles underlying 
civil life, and their development and application in gov- 
ernment, than to memorize discordant political facts. The 
study of civics has a deeper significance than the mere 
study of laws and law-makers, of offices and officers. 
These, it is true, are important, but they are of secondary 
importance, for they are merely the mediums and instru- 
ments in carrying on the work of government. The 
proper study of civics should inspire a spirit of obedience 
to the laws, and of respect for those in authority in the 
home, in school, in local government, in the State and in 
the Nation. It should inspire a spirit of patriotism, and 
tend to a better and purer citizenship, to a better and purer 
government. 

It is the earnest hope of the writer that this book may 
help those who read it to understand more perfectly the 
rights and the duties of American citizenship. 

FKANCIS NEWTON THOEPE. 

University of Pennsylvania, 1 
Philadelphia, Pa. > 




PART I. 
THE FOUNDATIONS OF GOVEENMENT. 

CHAPTER. PAGE 

I. The Four Stages- of Society 7 

II. The Four Groups of Eights 16 

III. The Story of Political Eights in England ... 22 

IV. The Story of Political Eights in Colonial America 35 



PART II. 

LOCAL GOVEENMENT. 

V. The People and their Home Affairs; How the 

People Govern Themselves 44 

VI. The State and the Territory 52 

PART III. 
THE NATION. ' 

VII. The Law-makers and the Laws 64 

VIII. What Congress may Do 77 

IX. Powers Denied to Congress and to the States . 85 

X. The President of the United States 93 

XL The Executive Departments 103 

XII. The Courts of Justice 114 

XIII. The People and the Land 126 

XIV. The People and the Money . . 133 

XV. The Citizen 141 

XVI. The People in Politics . 146 

XVII. The Nation 158 

3 



4 CONTENTS. 

PART IV. 
STATE PAPEES. 

PAGE 

The Mayflower Compact 164 

The First Declaration of Eights 166 

The Declaration of Independence 169 

The Articles of Confederation 175 

The Constitution of the United States 188 



Appendix 211 

Eepresentation, Population and Area of the States . . 211 

Table of Presidents, etc 212 

The Australian Ballot System 214 

Questions Developing the Government of the State, 

County, City, Township, Town, etc 216 

Problems in Civil Government 218 

Questions for Debate 220 

Index 221 



ILLUSTEATIONS. 

*<>:*ko« — 

Great Seal of the United States Frontispiece. 

King John Signing Magna Charta 30 

Signing the Mayflower Compact 36 

Adoption of the Declaration of Independence .... 41 

The Capitol Building at Washington 64 

The Supreme Court of the United States 123 

Map showing Public Domain and Acquisition of Territory 126 
Liberty Enlightening the World 156 




Part I. 

THE FOUNDATIONS OF GOVERNMENT. 



" Manasseh used enchantments, and used witch- 
craft, and dealt with a familiar spirit and with 
wizards ; he wrought much evil in the sight of the 
Lord/' 

"And there were in the same country shepherds 
abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock 
by nighty 

"And Isaac had possession of flocks and pos- 
session of herds, and great store of servants, and 
the Philistines envied him. And Isaac departed 
thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, 
and dwelt there. And Isaac digged again the 
wells of water which they had digged in the 
days of Abraham his father ; . . . and the herds- 
men of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdsmen, 
saying, The water is ours." 



6 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

"Then I will give you rain in due season, and 
the land shall yield her increase, and the trees 
of the field shall yield their fruit* And your 
threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the 
vintage shall reach unto the sowing-time, and ye 
shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in the 
land safely ." 

"A cunning man, endued with understanding, 
. . . skilful to work in gold and in silver, in brass, 
in iron, in stone and in timber, in purple, in blue, 
and in fine linen and in crimson; also to grave 
any manner of graving." 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

*oXKo* 

CHAPTER I. 

THE FOUR STAGES OF SOCIETY. 

1. CIVIL INSTITUTIONS.— The laws, customs and 
occupations of a people comprise their civil institutions. 
Human interests are not solitary. One interest is related 
to all others. If we were to journey over the earth, visit- 
ing its different nations, we might at first think that the 
civil institutions of the many peoples we saw were too 
varied for any kind of classification ; by a closer examina- 
tion we would discover four classes of human societ)^ — 
savages, herdsmen, husbandmen and manufacturers. 

2. Savages. — Those people whose chief occupation is 
hunting comprise the savage tribes of the six continents. 
They have customs simple and rude, and laws few and 
cruel. The boundaries of the land over which they seek 
their supplies are in constant dispute between the tribes. 
Each tribe is a collection of kindred families, and is gov- 
erned by a man famed both as hunter and as warrior. 
His will, so far as he can enforce it, is law. The symbol 
of his authority is a spear or a club. 

3. Life and Language. — Hunting supplies savages 
with food and clothing. They suffer from many diseases 
which do not seriously endanger a civilized community. 
Their language is unwritten, usually abounds in guttural 
sounds, has few words, not usually more than three hun- 
dred, and these are not inflected so as to express shades 
of thought. Their language is composed of nouns and 

7 



8 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

verbs, with few if any other parts of speech. The nouns 
rudely name the plain objects of the senses ; their words 
do not express exact qualities or quantities. Taken singly, 
the words have little if any meaning. The people have 
few and crude ideas. 

4. Superstitions. — Savages are extremely superstitious 
and easily terrified by the phenomena of nature. They 
people the world with demons, and their customs are 
demonic, and frequently degrading. They do not under- 
stand the causes and the nature of common things. 

5. Character. — The habits, customs, superstitions and 
manner of life of savage tribes indicate their true charac- 
ter. Life among them is unsafe ; morality is unknown ; 
physical strength is the sole basis of right ; their govern- 
ment is the uncertain and brutal exercise of physical 
power and the sullen and unwilling obedience of the jeal- 
ous and the weak. The savage has no property that can 
be called wealth, and he cannot accumulate wealth. He 
cannot keep his game; he makes nothing; when he dies 
his hunting equipment is usually buried with him. 

6. Herdsmen. — A larger group of peoples keep flocks 
and herds, and by means of these provide for themselves 
food and clothing. The area and boundaries of the land 
required by their cattle vary. Herdsmen follow the grass ; 
it is the source of their wealth. They are wanderers and 
dwell in tents, but their laws and customs are less rude 
than those found among hunting tribes. They practice 
simple arts and make many articles required by their 
manner of life. They have a greater variety of food than 
savages, and many desires unknown to savage life. But- 
ter and cheese are made by means of simple tools. The 
art of curing leather begins among them. They have 
their wealth for exchange, and thus obtain many articles 
which they cannot make for themselves. 

7. Government among* Them. — Their ruler is the 
oldest living father of a family, and the symbol of his 



THE FOUR STAGES OF SOCIETY. 9 

authority is a shepherd's staff. The laws among them 
grow out of their occupations. Their laws have reference 
chiefly to two objects — the protection of life and of prop- 
erty. The herdsman has many cattle, and at his death 
some one must care for them. Naturally, the members of 
his own family succeed to his wealth, and his personal 
authority also descends to his personal representative or 
heir, who is usually his eldest son. 

8. Laws of Property Begin. — Thus laws of the in- 
heritance of property originate among herdsmen. This 
property is movable, or, as we now say, personal. Land 
becomes a thing of value, and land-laws originate in the 
use of the land for grazing. Water, in the form of brooks, 
wells and springs, becomes the subject of customary rights. 
As a well is dug by severe labor, he who digs a well has a 
right to it for his family and his flocks. 

9. Language and Ideas. — Herdsmen have more words 
in their language and more ideas than have savages. 
Shepherds are often in one locality for a long time ; they 
watch their flocks night and day ; they observe the course 
of nature and discover its regularity. They were the first 
to study the motions of the heavenly bodies, and they 
fancied that they saw familiar forms among the stars. 
Lions and wolves were there chasing cattle and sheep, and 
to the constellations of the stars they gave names. Cen- 
turies have passed, but the names given to the stars by the 
shepherds still cling to them. Thus the science of astron- 
omy began. The language of shepherds expresses their 
ideas. One of the oldest poems in the world, the book of 
Job, describes the customs, the laws and the character of a 
people who were shepherds in Mesopotamia, one of the 
early homes of our own civilization. 

10. Life and the Recognition of Rights. — Herdsmen 
have many more interests than savages, because they have 
more ideas and objects of desire obtained by labor. Such 
objects constitute wealth. Government among them rec- 



10 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

ognizes and protects life and property and the comfort of 
man. The patriarch has more cares than the chieftain. 
It is a principle of government that as the interests of men 
increase and as they secure wealth by their own labor, govern- 
ment becomes more complex, or, as we are accustomed to say, 
has more departments ; for a primary purpose of govern- 
ment is to secure to individuals and to nations their 
rights. 

11. Importance of Rights. — A right is the most im- 
portant possession a person can have. Human rights are 
the realities which government is instituted to protect. 
The word "right" has more meaning than any other word 
used in governmental affairs, and we shall constantly have 
occasion to investigate its signification. When we under- 
stand what rights exist in a country, we know exactly what 
is the government of the people of that country. 

12. Effect of the Recognition of Rights. — The im- 
mediate effect of the recognition of rights is the exercise 
of government to protect them. A denial of a right is a 
wrong, and the suspension of a right, if not justifiable, is 
a crime. 

13. Husbandmen. — The peoples who cultivate the soil 
outnumber all others. They live in fixed homes ; they 
divide the land and mark its boundaries with care. To 
remove a landmark confuses many interests and endan- 
gers rights, and is a crime ; for the tiller of the ground is 
obliged to feed and clothe himself and his family by his 
own labor on a definite piece of ground, and if the bound- 
aries are disturbed unlawfully the living of the family is 
in danger. 

14. Crimes. — Among the herdsmen the stealing of cat- 
tle is a crime, because the living of the family is thereby 
endangered. The tiller of the ground must be protected 
from similar injury, and his wealth is a definite area of 
ground. Land-laws thus become more definite among 
those who practice agriculture ; many customs and laws 



THE FOUE STAGES OF SOCIETY. 11 

peculiar to an agricultural people would not arise among 
herdsmen. Each state of society has its legal system that 
is founded upon its' own character. Different civil insti- 
tutions, becoming different systems of government, thus 
spring up in the world. 

15. Superior Knowledge required in Agriculture. — 
The farmer is obliged to understand the nature of crops, 
soils, culture and harvesting. He requires many tools for 
which the savage or the herdsman could have no use. He 
must understand the laws of nature so as to be able to sup- 
ply his wants. His language reflects his mind and ex- 
presses many interests. His interests are four-fold : those 
pertaining to his labor ; those pertaining to the control of 
his fellows ; those relating to his conduct toward men ; 
and those relating to the God whom he worships. 

16. Manufacturers. — A fourth group of people are 
engaged in making objects of desire, and thus they are 
closely related to the herdsmen and to the tillers of the 
soil. Labor creates rights and transforms raw material, 
such as the skins and the wool produced by the herdsmen 
and the agricultural products of the husbandmen, into 
articles adopted to many human uses. The making of 
objects requires a large amount of knowledge in the 
maker. He has many ideas, and his language contains 
many words unknown to the savage or the herdsman. 
With increased knowledge comes the division of labor and 
the recognition of industrial rights. New industries are 
created, old industries are improved. Simple tools are 
displaced by complicated machinery that never wearies 
and that rapidly transforms raw material into finished 
articles. In every step of this process rights are con- 
cerned. The forms of w T ealth multiply, so that they can 
scarcely be counted. The manufacturer depends upon 
the productions of farming and of herding for material 
used in his labor. His rights are therefore closely con- 
nected with the rights of other men. He must build 



12 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

machines, erect suitable buildings, provide material, em- 
ploy craftsmen, manage industrial enterprises, understand 
industrial conditions, satisfy the desires of men for mate- 
rial wealth created by human labor, and exercise freely 
all his rights, in order that the desires of men may be 
satisfied. 

17. Laws and Customs pertaining to Industry.— A 
manufacturing community develops habits or customs 
that are proven by experience to be favorable to industry. 
The government that protects the rights of manufacturers, 
and of all those associated with them in the making of 
objects, must recognize these customs and enact suitable 
laws. 

18. Civilized Peoples have a Variety of Interests. — 
In a civilized country the interests of the herdsman, of the 
tiller of the soil and of the manufacturer may be found in 
a single community and even in a single person. The 
farmer tills his ground and at the same time keeps cattle 
and sheep. Near by is the town in which the manufac- 
turer maintains his factory and all its interests. A com- 
munity has at the same time the interests of the three 
classes of people. Rights thus may imply the interests 
of the husbandman, of the herdsman and of the manufac- 
turer. Every department of life is affected by the recog- 
nition or the suppression of these rights. 

19. Effect Seen in Society. — As ideas increase among 
men, language increases, until there may be, as in our own 
tongue, more than one hundred thousand words. Every 
right creates a custom, and the custom may become a law. 
A custom is only a way of doing, and a law is a rule of 
action prescribed by a supreme pow T er, declaring how, 
when, where and by whom a thing shall or shall not be 
done. 

20. Commerce. — With the increase of the wealth of 
individuals and of nations, and with the recognition of 
rights among them, exists a commerce both in ideas and 



THE FOUR STAGES OF SOCIETY. 13 

in things. Articles are produced, exchanged, transported 
and consumed. The star-clusters that seemed like sheep 
and oxen and lions to the shepherds become the light- 
houses of the sky, and guide ships laden with precious 
cargoes from port to port and from continent to continent. 
Men become more closely associated ; they supply each 
other's wants. Their interests become complex, and some- 
times it is impossible to separate them. The herdsman, 
the farmer, the merchant, the railroad, the steamship, the 
miner, the manufacturer, the workingman, — all and each 
represent a mass of interests and a body of rights. To 
further these interests and to secure these rights govern- 
ments are instituted among men ; customs grow into laws, 
and laws and customs grow into that supreme law or chief 
custom of all — Government. 

21. Importance of Government.— We see plainly, 
then, that the meaning of government is exceedingly 
large, because it concerns itself with every human interest. 
We see that customs and laws and language and govern- 
ment are closely connected with the occupations of the 
people. The occupations affect the government, and the 
government affects the occupations. 

22. Different Forms of G-overnment. — Different forms 
of government exist, because the ideas of men differ as to 
the best manner of managing their own interests. People 
who have many wants and who are able to satisfy them 
by intelligent labor are civilized — i. e. they have become 
citizens. The word " citizen " is companion to the word 
" right," and like it has a profound meaning. So import- 
ant is the signification of the word " citizen " that individ- 
uals and nations, in order to obtain the realization of the 
full rights of the citizen, have made costly sacrifices. The 
rights of the citizen are made precious to us by the lofty 
sacrifices of human life in order that men and women and 
children may have their inborn rights freely fully and at 
all times, 



14 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

A theocracy is a government in which the rulers are 
priests who claim to be under the immediate direction of 
God. The government of the ancient Jews was a theoc- 
racy. 

A monarchy is a government in which the supreme 
power resides in a single person, usually called a king. 
If his power is limited by laws, the government is a lim- 
ited monarchy; if all power proceeds from him, the gov- 
ernment is an absolute monarchy. Modern kingdoms are 
limited monarchies, except Russia and Turkey, which are 
absolute monarchies. 

An aristocracy is a government controlled by a few 
men distinguished for rank, wisdom and wealth. Venice 
was an aristocracy during the Middle Ages. 

A democracy is a government by the people in person. 
Rhode Island was a democracy for a brief time. 

A republic is a representative democracy. Our States 
and the United States have a republican form of govern- 
ment. 

23. Sanctity of Government. — The interests of a peo- 
ple are so closely blended with their government that 
government becomes the supreme interest of the people; 
its character is sacred, because its preservation concerns 
the lives and the property of all who compose the nation. 
Therefore the attempt to overthrow the prevailing govern- 
ment is a crime against the nation. This crime is called 
treason, and is punishable w T ith death. 

Sometimes a government is successfully overturned and 
remodelled with the consent of the people who compose 
it. A successful change in the government amounts to a 
revolution, such as occurred in this country in 1776. But 
all thoughtful men agree that governments long established 
are not to be overturned for light and passing reasons, 
else all stability in human affairs would disappear and 
fickle-minded people would cause perpetual confusion in 
the world by the constant change in governments. The 



THE FOUR STAGES OF SOCIETY. 15 

people have the right to alter or amend their own govern- 
ment in a peaceful way, as was done in this country in 
1789. 

24. The True Basis of Government.— When we look a 
little closer for the foundation of government, w r e discover 
that it exists in the nature of men themselves. The rights 
of persons give occasion for government. Individuals 
have by nature desires, wills, ideas, character, and upon 
these government is founded. The natural rights of men, 
women and children as citizens are called civil rights. 
Some citizens have other rights which are called political 
rights. The right to personal security is a civil right, and 
is common to all citizens ; the right to vote is a political 
right, and is possessed by qualified persons called electors. 
The true basis of government is persons, not things. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE FOUR GROUPS OF RIGHTS. 

25. Men Differ concerning Rights. — We might think 
that every man could guard his own rights, and that in 
this way the rights of all would be protected. But men 
differ among themselves in their opinions about their 
rights : this difference of opinion is natural to men, and 
must always be taken into account in human affairs. 
Government is based upon men as they are ; it is a for- 
midable reality. If only a few men lived in the world, in 
a simple way of life, isolated from each other, they might 
possibly be able to protect their own interests, but they 
could not realize their own rights. Men cannot live in 
isolation ; association is necessary, and this necessity gives 
rise to human society. 

26. Rights of Society. — The word " society " is also an 
important word. Individuals have rights as individuals ; 
they also have rights to and in association, called the 
rights of society. The relation of the individual to society 
is that of the part of a living organism to the whole of the 
organism. An individual is a part of society. The polit- 
ical rights of an individual are largely fixed by his rela- 
tions to society. 

27. Rights and Duties Related. — Every right, whether 
of the individual or of society, implies a duty. Every 
duty implies a right. A duty is the exercise of a right. 
The words right, citizen, society, and duty are of intense 
interest to civilized people ; they stand for ideas and prin- 
ciples of primary importance to human beings. 

16 



THE FOUR GROUPS OF RIGHTS. 17 

The rights of individuals and of society give rise to that 
kind of knowledge called political. The word " political " 
originally meant urban, or pertaining to the city, because 
people are closely associated in a city and are compelled 
to recognize their own rights and those of others. Cities 
have served a peculiar office in discovering the rights of 
men, and many of the cities of England maintained the 
rights of the citizens when these rights were lost in the 
rural districts. Cities have preserved human liberties. 

The duties of individuals and of society give rise to that 
knowledge which we call moral. The word " moral " im- 
plies the idea of conduct or custom of doing, judged by 
the standard of human welfare and of Divine law. A 
man is a political being because he has rights ; he is a 
moral being because he has duties. 

28. Individuals and Society. — Government protects a 
person in his rights and requires him to perform his duties. 
The character of society is the character of the individuals 
who compose it. Bad men make bad society. Govern- 
ment must therefore address itself directly to individuals, 
must have power over them, and must depend upon them 
for its authority and for its character. Each of us is indi- 
vidually a part of the government, and we should know 
our rights and perform our duties. The neglect to do so 
endangers the government and wrongs us individually. 
The rights now so common among us are ours only after 
the greatest struggles that the world has seen. 

29. Natural Rights. — We do not inherit rights; they 
are inherent ; God creates them in every person. There 
have been governments in. the world for ages, but the truth 
that all men are born with equal rights has been accepted 
less than a hundred years. To understand and to live 
this truth is the privilege of the world to-day. We of the 
United States have this privilege by the law of the land. 
But because we have more rights than any other nation, 
we have more duties. American citizens have rights and 

3 



18 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

duties unknown to the people of Europe. Yet many in- 
stitutions common among us began long ago in Europe. 

30. Foreigners become Citizens. — Several hundred 
thousand Europeans come to the United States every year 
for permanent homes. They are chiefly from England, 
Ireland, Italy, Germany and Scandinavia. They have 
caused those sections of the United States where they are 
most thickly settled to take on a character peculiar to 
themselves; some parts of the United States are Germanic, 
some are Scandinavian, some are Italian, in many of their 
prevailing customs. The African race has been in this 
country since 1619. Africans and Europeans and some 
Asiatics are made welcome by our government, and by 
conforming to the laws they have become American citi- 
zens. They learn the rights and the duties of American 
citizenship by actual practice. Serious social problems 
constantly arise ; but the experience of the past encour- 
ages us to believe that we shall be able to solve these prob- 
lems by earnestly grappling w r ith them in the recognition 
of our rights and the performance of our duties. 

The Four Groups of Rights. 

31. Industrial Rights. — The citizen has the right and 
the duty to support himself and those dependent upon 
him by honorable labor : such rights and duties are called 
Industrial. These are many and of first importance. 
Within this group fall all the rights of laborers, operatives 
and of makers of things of every description. Industrial 
rights and duties affect the business, the material interests 
of the household, and the productive interests of the coun- 
try — the farms, manufacturing plants, the wages of men, 
women and children, the hours of labor, the means of 
transportation, such as railroads, canals, steamship lines, 
express companies and common carriers. Industrial rights 
and duties also extend to society at large. America has 
vast industrial relations with other countries ; we use arti- 



THE FOUR GROUPS OF RIGHTS. 19 

cles produced in foreign lands, and they use articles made 
by us. Our industrial interests comprise a large portion 
of our wealth, and government guards them with extreme 
care. 

32. Political Rights. — The citizen has also opinions as 
to what he himself and society should do and what ideas 
should be supreme in the state. These ideas of control or 
government are called political ideas. His political ideas 
are his own property, and he has the right to express them 
and to carry them into effect with the aid of his fellow-citi- 
zens, provided that neither he nor they do or suffer wrong. 
His right is to do unto others as he would have them do 
unto him. Men are always trying to enforce their ideas 
upon others — i, e. to govern them. In this second group 
of rights and duties are all those rights of opinion con- 
cerning government, such as, what kind of government 
is best; how government should be administered; who 
should exercise authority ; where that authority should be 
located. Political rights and duties affect all our opinions 
about human laws, the nature of public offices and the 
character of public officers. Political rights and duties 
are concerned when public servants are chosen, such as 
school-directors and assessors, tax-collectors and judges, 
governors and senators, members of Congress or the Presi- 
dent of the United States. Political rights and duties are 
concerned in such ordinary and important matters as the 
carrying of the mails; the material, the quality, the quan- 
tity and the denominations of our money ; the fixing of 
county, State and national boundaries ; the support of an 
army and of a navy ; and they are concerned also in such 
seemingly trivial matters as the shape, color and value of 
a postage-stamp and the selection of the man's face upon 
it. These rights and duties are of such importance that 
men organize powerful political parties to maintain their 
opinions, give their energies, time and money for the sup- 
port of these opinions, and seek peaceful solution of gov- 



20 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

ernmental problems by elections or compel the solution 
of them by wars and treaties. The political rights and 
duties of individuals have assumed so much importance 
in this country that they are often said to be the supreme 
interests of the citizen. But they are only one of a group 
of rights and are of equal interest with other rights. 

33. Social Rights. — An American citizen is also part 
of society ; he has social rights and duties. These are of 
a comprehensive character, because they affect the nation 
as a whole. Social rights and duties are concerned in the 
establishment of all kinds of schools for the benefit of the 
public ; for the reformation of criminals ; in the mainte- 
nance of asylums for the aid of the afflicted, such as the 
blind and the insane. Society is interested in the preser- 
vation of health and public comfort, public order, good 
roads and bridges, clean and passable streets, safe public 
and private buildings, the lighting of public places, the 
removal of all substances that may poison the air we 
breathe or the water we drink. These rights and duties 
are liable to be neglected, although they are commonly 
admitted to be of vast importance. The welfare of society 
is often of greater moment than the comfort of an indi- 
vidual. When the interests of the individual and of 
society conflict, the individual must yield to society if 
society insists upon the yielding. This right of society is 
called the right of eminent domain. 

The right of eminent domain is a sovereign right exer- 
cised by a government or by a corporation, by which indi- 
vidual interests are compelled to yield to the interests of 
society, of the corporation or of the government. 

A corporation is a body of persons authorized by law 
to act or do business as a single individual. A railroad 
company, a manufacturing company, a bank, a chartered 
city, are illustrations of corporations. 

34. Moral and Religious Rights. — The citizen has also 
moral and religious rights ; he is a child of God and lives in 



THE FOVH GEO VPS OF MIGHTS. 21 

relations with him. Man naturally worships some being su- 
perior to himself. We have rights of conscience and we have 
moral duties. These we are permitted to exercise freely 
so far as they do not break the peace of the State. These 
rights and duties are concerned in the maintenance of 
religion ; the proper regard for the Sabbath ; the reverence 
for sacred things and ideas ; the support of public wor- 
ship ; the bettering of the world ; the conscientious atten- 
tion to the duties of life. For many centuries men strug- 
gled to realize the right to worship God according to the 
dictates of conscience : that right has been and is fully 
realized in this country. Closely related to these rights 
and duties are those of a moral character which are 
implied in the word "ought." All good government is 
moral in its character. 

35. Rights often Mingle. — A right may at the same 
time be industrial, political, social or moral. We cannot 
always separate a right from its companions. Government 
is concerned to protect them all. A school illustrates them 
all : it is a place of industry ; here we learn to govern and 
to be governed ; it is a society, and has rights and duties 
as such ; all schools are subject to moral rights and duties. 

36. The Pour Groups of Rights and Government. — 
All of our rights and duties are natural to us as human 
beings ; government is based upon them, is protected by 
them, and in turn protects them. They all unite in the 
citizen. The government of a people is understood when 
its industrial, political, social and moral rights are under- 
stood. The sovereignty of an opinion and its expression 
in a form of government or in the election of a body of 
public servants represents all these rights ; hence we have 
come to speak of our political rights as representative of 
all our rights and as of supreme importance. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE STORY OF POLITICAL RIGHTS IN ENGLAND. 

37. Our German Ancestors. — About two thousand 
years ago the Roman Empire comprised the civilized 
world. It was busy conquering the barbarous nations, 
and sent its legions and its greatest soldier, Julius Csesar, 
into Northern and Western Europe to conquer the strange 
peoples who then lived in Germany and Gaul (France). 
For nearly four hundred years the struggle continued, but 
the brave Germans were never conquered by Rome. On 
the contrary, the Germans in great numbers left their own 
wild country, and their armies marched into Italy and 
seized Rome. About 500 a. d. the different nations of 
Europe, as they are now located on the map, made a 
beginning. The Germans also moved westward into the 
lands now called Denmark, Schleswig and England. They 
were so strong as largely to fix the customs, the laws and 
the language of Northern Europe to the present day. 
From Germany to England and from England to America 
has been the journey of political rights. These rights and 
duties were not formerly so plainly understood as at the 
present time, for the knowledge of rights increases as men 
learn them by experience. 

38. Constitutions. — Nations like individuals learn by 
experience, and they express their knowledge of rights 
and duties in important writings which we call " constitu- 
tions." If you examine a written constitution, you observe 
that it is an instrument expressed in a formal way, and is 
divided into articles and sections. But written constitu- 
tions are not very old ; the people of America were the 

22 



POLITICAL EIGHTS IN ENGLAND. 23 

first people in the history of the world who formally set 
down their civil institutions in a written constitution. 
Since our ancestors began to form constitutions, two cen- 
turies ago, most civilized nations have learned to form 
them, so that it may be said that America has taught the 
world how to frame a written constitution. It is interest- 
ing to know how our ancestors in this country became in 
the habit of expressing their ideas on political rights and 
duties in a constitution. The story is as follows : 

39. Origin of the Town and of the Township. — The 
Germans, whom the Roman legions could not conquer, 
were a brave, warlike and virtuous race. Every warrior 
was a freeman. He and his kindred lived together in a 
cluster of houses, each having a door-yard and a garden. 
Around this settlement of one kindred a hedge or ditch or 
rude, strong fence was made. The hedge was called a tuny- 
it might enclose a farm or a hamlet. He who lived within 
the tun was called a tunes-man, as the dweller within the 
boundaries of the settlement is still called by us. The 
house of the ttines-man was called bur, or burgh, a dwell- 
ing, from which we get our words borough and burgess, and 
the last syllable of the names of some towns, as Pittsburgh, 
Edinburgh. The Northman called his strong house gardr 
or garth, whence our words garden and yard. 

40. Freemen as Landholders. — The freeman owned 
land and was the head of a family. The unit of measure 
in rights and duties is the family ; this unit is found 
among savages, herdsmen, tillers of the soil and manufac- 
turing peoples. The family is a sacred institution and as 
ancient as the race itself. All the lands controlled by the 
townsmen were comprised within the tunscipe, or town- 
ship, and to this day the township remains the unit of 
measure for our political divisions. When we say " town " 
or " township," we use a name that has been used contin- 
uously for more than two thousand years for the same 
object. But government becomes more complex as men 



24 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

become more civilized. The townsman of to-day has 
many more political rights and duties than had the Ger- 
man tunes-man of long ago. 

41. The Parish. — When Christian missionaries came 
among the Germans a new word came also — the word 
parish. The parish marked the boundary assigned by the 
Church to the priest for the performance of duties. The 
parish was usually of equal extent with the township. 
The word itself meant the church-home, for all the people 
of a parish had the same church home. The two words, 
township and parish, continued to describe the same area 
of land, and were brought from England to America as 
expressive of two harmonious ideas. The ideas of men 
changed and the words fell far apart as Church and 
State were separated, but in the southern part of the 
United States the term parish continues to mean what the 
term township signifies in the North — a civil division of 
the State. 

42. The Hundred. — The German townsmen often as- 
sembled together in political meetings, called gemoten, for 
the purpose of electing town officers. At these meetings 
laws were made, and our word " by-law " is said to mean 
the law made by the township, or, as it was once called in 
Northern England, the "%." The townships united for 
the convenience of administering, justice comprised the 
hundred. The court of the hundred decided disputes. 
Jury trials were introduced by the slow growth of cus- 
tom. The court of the hundred was the lowest court, 
and it so continues in Germany, England and the United 
States to this day. In some of our States even the word 
hundred remains, as in Delaware ; the court of the hun- 
dred we commonly call the Justice's court. 

43. The Shire.— Several hundreds comprised a shire, 
which meant a share or part of the whole country. The 
word is still common in England. In New England the 
word is often used in conversation, but the subdivisions of 



POLITICAL MIGHTS IN ENGLAND. 25 

the States in this country are commonly called counties, a 
name that was introduced into England by the Normans, 
and which then designated a military division of the 
realm, The shire had also courts and officers, the proto- 
types of our county courts and officers. 

44. The Shire-reeve. — The principal officer of the shire 
then, as now, was the shire-reeve or sheriff, signifying then 
the representative of the king's authority, and with us the 
representative of the majesty of law and the authority of 
the people. The county court was held for the trial of" 
cases more important than those tried in the court of the 
hundred or of the township. It is so at the present time, 
and now, as then, the person who is summoned to attend 
court is under the special protection of the law. 

45. Our Civil Institutions very Old.— .We see, then, 
that our civil institutions are very old, but the oldest are 
our local institutions, those that are right about us and 
which seem to thoughtless persons so commonplace. 
These local institutions lie at the foundation of our gov- 
ernment and of the constitutional governments of Europe. 
Although the United States is a new country, its civil in- 
stitutions are as ancient as those of England or Germany. 

46. German Conquest of Britain. — About the middle 
of the fifth century the German tribes began to land in 
England. They soon made the country their own, and 
introduced German ideas and forms of local government. 
Two tribes took the lead : the Angles or Inglisc, who gave 
their name to the language, and the Saxons, who gave 
their name to the civil institutions. Our institutions are 
not strictly Anglo-Saxon, for the Americans have discov- 
ered many rights and duties for themselves such as never 
have existed in Europe. 

47. Civil Institutions Subject to Laws. — Political 
rights and duties are not discovered by accident or experi- 
ment; they are controlled by laws. These laws are based 
upon the nature of man. From time to time discoveries 



26 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

are made concerning the nature of these rights and duties, 
just as discoveries are made concerning the nature of 
other natural phenomena. There is, however, this differ- 
ence to be noted : rights and duties are discovered by ex- 
perience ; the nature of natural phenomena is determined 
by experiment. Human life and its interests are too sa- 
cred to permit experiments to be made for the purpose of 
discovering rights and duties, as experiments are made in 
chemistry to determine the nature of strange compounds. 
The closer a government gets to the experience of the peo- 
ple, and the less it experiments with them, the more the 
welfare of men is promoted. Only arbitrary despots like 
the Czars of Russia ever experiment with human beings. 
A law is sometimes called an experiment, but it is based 
upon previous experience. Oftentimes people who are 
corrupt or ignorant oppose the increase of knowledge of 
political rights and duties. This opposition is sometimes 
composed of masses of people deceived and misled by 
bold men. But such opposition to the general welfare 
has caused mighty struggles for rights, such as the wars 
that have devastated different countries at different times. 
We must keep in mind that political rights and duties are 
as natural to all men as eating or sleeping ; if not subject 
to wise laws, men become politically diseased and think 
and act foolishly and wickedly, and have to suffer the 
consequences of their actions. A great law of politics is, 
that the possession of power is the possession of responsibility : 
in a republican government like our own this responsi- 
bility rests upon every citizen, for the authority of the 
government is the will of the people of the United States. 
48. Freemen's Rights and Land Rights. — Anglo-Saxon 
ideas prospered in England, and in a few years overspread 
the land. In three centuries they were firmly rooted in 
the island. Land was held in two kinds of ownership : 
one, ownership by the individual ; the second, ownership 
by the public, or, as we are accustomed to say, by the 



POLITICAL EIGHTS IN ENGLAND. 27 

state. The public land was called the commons, a word 
still used in some parts of our country as the name of 
public parks or squares. There were freemen with land 
and freemen without land, but the landed freemen enjoyed 
rights not allowed to the landless man. The notion that 
land-owning gives peculiar rights politically continues in 
England to this day, and it prevailed in some parts of the 
United States until about 1850. 

49. Growth of Cities. — Great towns grew up in Eng- 
land, and the townspeople were very active and jealous 
of their ancient rights. The kings ^frequently tried to 
restrict the liberties of the towns, but the resistance of 
the towns was too great. So as time passed the people 
liked their ancient rights better and better ; they liked the 
freedom that was guaranteed by their old laws and cus- 
toms. Often they were called upon to assist the sheriff in 
the execution of the laws. One of these old customs, called 
the " Hue and cry," still continues. 

50. Hue and Cry. — If a person in the hundred or the 
shire had committed a crime, he was quickly pursued by 
those whom he had wronged or by the sheriff. If he 
could not at once be found, the hue and cry was raised, 
and all the people joined in the search until the offender 
was seized. The sheriff still has the authority to call on 
the people of the county, the " posse comitatus " as it is 
called, when he alone is unable to execute the laws. 

51. Juries and Tax-levies. — The English people liked 
the free and ancient manner of acquiring and of conveying 
land ; they liked their old custom of trying suits at law 
before a jury of twelve men, who saw the parties in the 
dispute face to face, heard the story of each party and 
decided according to the facts in the case. They liked 
also the ancient manner of levying taxes, which was to 
allow the elected representatives of the people of each 
township to levy the taxes for that township. This was 
in accordance with the rights of local government. Is it 



28 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

strange that the people came to speak of their rights as 
" the ancient and undoubted rights of the people of Eng- 
land " ? 

52. The Norman Conquest. — A great change came 
over England in the year 1066 : the Normans, a Franco- 
German people, conquered the island. These French- 
speaking Germans took all the land of England as a 
military tribute, and the Norman leader, William the 
Conqueror, took the title to all the land. He gave part 
of it to his nobles on condition that when he wished their 
services they would instantly come and serve him: the 
land taken in this manner by a nobleman was called a 
feud or fee, and the system thus begun was called the 
Feudal System. The feudal system still prevails in Eng- 
land, but it never prevailed in the United States. It lies, 
however, at the foundation of some of our ideas about 
land. By it the title of all the land was vested in the 
king. With us the title of land is vested in the owner of 
it, but if the owner is not the state, the title of the land 
can be traced back to the state, for the state in this coun- 
try is the lawful successor to the king. 

53. Origin of Taxes. — The personal service of the lord 
in war was not regular, and after a time the king consented 
to take a definite sum of money instead of war-service ; the 
lords thus became taxpayers, but they collected the money 
for the taxes from the people who lived upon the land, and 
these people were the descendants of the ancient owners 
of the land. 

The king was supposed to be the real owner of the lands 
and to protect them, and, as he had given the land to the 
lords, they did not dare refuse to pay him taxes, lest he 
should take their lands away and give them to others. In 
the United States we know that if a person fails to pay 
the taxes levied by the authority of the State, the sheriff 
w T ill seize his land and sell it. The sheriff represents the 
people of the State by whose authority the taxes were 



POLITICAL RIGHTS IN ENGLAND. 29 

levied. In England the Norman king was the state, but 
he did not represent the wishes of the people. 

54. The Rising- of the People against the King. — One 
by one the ancient rights of the English people were 
taken from them by the king. Landholding became inse- 
cure ; the old laws and customs were ignored ; the people 
complained, but the king would not listen. At last the 
Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, invited some 
of the barons of England to join with him in compelling 
King John to acknowledge, and rule according to the un- 
doubted and ancient rights of the people of England. 
John refused ; the king and the barons prepared for war, 
but the king's heart failed ; he had a bad cause : he con- 
sented to grant a charter of rights, by which the old laws 
and customs should be restored and the people protected 
in the exercise of their ancient rights and liberties. 

55. The Great Charter.— On the 15th of June, 1215, 
a memorable year in the story of liberty, the archbishop 
and some twenty resolute barons — statues of whom now 
support the ceiling of the House of Lords — met the king 
and his barons on a little island in the Thames, called 
Runnymede, about fifteen miles above the city of Lon- 
don. There and then the king was forced to acknow- 
ledge the ancient rights of his people in a charter called 
Magna Charta, the " Great Charter," and as the king and 
many of his barons could not write their names, they 
tied their seals to the charter with leathern strings, and 
the charter with its seals of stone may be seen in the Brit- 
ish Museum to this day. The king tried to ignore the 
charter, but the people and their barons waged war against 
him with such success that he and his successors for more 
than seven hundred years have sworn " to rule according 
to the law of the land" and support the principles of the 
charter. This promise of the king of England at his coro- 
nation is similar to the custom that prevails in the United 
States at the inauguration of a President, who takes a sol- 



POLITICAL RIGHTS IN ENGLAND. 31 

emn oath to " preserve, protect and defend the Constitution 
of the United States." 

56. The House of Commons. — But some of the kings 
broke their promises to the people. Fifty years after the 
Great Charter the people of England found another patri- 
otic leader and friend in Simon de Montfort, who seized 
the king, Henry III., and summoned the representatives 
of the people in a Parliament. The people had once been 
accustomed to choosing an assembly of their wise men, 
who had made the laws of the land, but in 1265 these 
assemblies had long fallen into disuse. De Montfort sim- 
ply restored them and gave them a French name, Parlia- 
ment, the " talking body." In this first English Parliament 
the people were again represented by two men from each 
shire and two from each borough. These representatives 
of the people soon united to form the House of Commons, 
which continues to this day as the representative council 
of the people of England. The Commons are elected by 
the Englishmen who vote. The king's council became 
the House of Lords, an hereditary body. The Lords are 
descendants of old land-barons or are men raised to the 
peerage by the king. 

57. Powers of the House of Commons. — The Com- 
mons soon showed their power to be greater than that of 
the Lords. From ancient times the representatives of the 
people of the shire had voted the taxes to be raised by the 
shire; the Commons therefore voted the taxes for all Eng- 
land. The existence of the army and of the navy and 
of the entire clerical force of the government depends 
upon the vote of the House of Commons. Even the 
money for the king's household is the gift of the House 
of Commons. 

58. Struggle between King and Commons. — For the 
last five hundred years in England the king with the 
lords have been struggling against the commons. Some- 
times the House of Commons has been frightened into & 



32 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

brief surrender of ancient rights, but the people have 
always regained more than they seemed to lose. Eng- 
land has become more and more democratic every day. 
The struggle between king and commons reached its 
height during the time of the House of Stuart. 

59. The Petition of Right.— In 1628 the House of 
Commons wrung from the king the second charter of lib- 
erty, the Petition of Right. By this charter the king gave 
up for ever all claim to the right of levying taxes ; he no 
longer could imprison a subject at will; he could not 
quarter soldiers in any house without the consent of the 
owner. But after a few years King Charles I. disregarded 
the Petition of Right. 

60. Civil War leads to the Commonwealth. — The 
king and his followers, called the royalists, made war upon 
the House of Commons. Civil war raged for about six 
years, till the king was made a prisoner, was tried by a 
jury in the great hall of William Rufus, was sentenced to 
death, and was executed, because he had attempted "to 
rule contrary to the law of the land." Then for twelve 
years the people of England had no king, but were gov- 
erned by Parliament. Oliver Cromwell, one of the greatest 
of Englishmen, became chief executive with the title of 
Lord Protector, a significant title for the chief magistrate 
of a free people. England was a commonwealth. But 
the royalists wanted a king, and they succeeded in restor- 
ing a son of the beheaded king, and Charles II. ruled in 
England. Liberty had made much progress under the 
Commonwealth, and it continued to progress under the 
rule of the new king. 

61. Habeas Corpus the Security of the Citizen. — 
Although Magna Charta had said that no man should be 
imprisoned unless by the legal judgment of a jury of his 
peers, still in some instances persons sent to prison by the 
king's warrant had been kept there without help or rem- 
edy. In 1679, Parliament remedied this evil by passing 



POLITICAL EIGHTS IN ENGLAND. 33 

the Habeas Corpus act, which prevented the king and his 
successors and all others in authority from keeping prison- 
ers in jail at pleasure. Every prisoner in England and in 
this country committed to jail on charge of any crime is 
entitled to have a hearing before the court in his own 
behalf, and have the charges against him examined law- 
fully. The words habeas corpus mean, u Have the body." 
By the exercise of this right the body of the prisoner 
must be brought before the court to answer in his own 
behalf whether he shall be returned to jail or set free by 
the judgment of the court and the law of the land. The 
act has been re-enacted in every American State, and is 
considered the most famous security of personal liberty 
known to our laws. 

62. The Bill of Rights.— Nine years later, in 1688, the 
English people by their representatives in Parliament ex- 
pelled their king, James II., brother of Charles II., because 
he persisted in attempting to rule contrary to the law of 
the land. They declared the throne vacant, and invited 
William, Prince of Orange, to take the crown, on condition 
that he would acknowledge the ancient rights of the Eng- 
lish people and swear to support and defend them. That 
there might be no mistake concerning these rights, Parlia- 
ment drew up a statement of the principal rights long 
claimed and contended for by the people. This statement 
is the famous Bill of Rights of 1688. Prince William con- 
sented, and a member of Parliament placed the crown 
upon the new king's head as the first constitutional king 
of England. So it is truly said that since 1688 the mon- 
archs of England have their title by act of Parliament ; 
that is, by the consent of the representatives of the peo- 
ple of England. 

The Bill of Rights has been called the constitution of 
England ; but that statement is not quite correct, because 
the English people have never reduced their civil institu- 
tions to writing. The British constitution consists of the 
a 



34 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

law of the land, its civil institutions, and the rights and 
duties of the English people. 

63. The Experience of England Beneficial to America. 
—The long and successful struggle for rights in England 
was of incalculable advantage to America. But the Eng- 
lishman of the seventeenth century had not the rights 
now enjoyed by a citizen of the United States, nor even 
by a citizen of England to-day. 

In 1688 an Englishman had not the right to worship 
God according to the dictates of his own conscience ; he 
had not the right to educate himself; he had not the right 
to vote ; he had not the right to choose a trade or occupa- 
tion ; he had not the right to own land ; he had not the 
right to travel ; he had not the right to express or publish 
his opinions. 

The Englishmen who came to America during the cen- 
tury and a quarter in which the American colonies were 
founded brought with them many ideas which would not 
now be tolerated. These ideas, however, w r ere immediately 
enthroned in the customs and laws of the colonies. The 
rights of the citizen of the United States have increased 
rapidly in a hundred years, and they are enlarging con- 
stantly as he becomes conscious of them and lives up to 
the demands of his industrial, political, civil and moral 
duties. America has outgrown the limitations of the 
rights of the people in her early colonial days, and has 
become the freest country in the world. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE STORY OF POLITICAL RIGHTS IN COLONIAL. 

AMERICA. 

64. The People of the Colonies. — Most of the early 
colonists were English people, and they claimed all those 
ancient and undoubted rights for which the people of 
England had so long contended. These rights and lib- 
erties were guaranteed them by the Crown in charters 
granted at various times from 1606 to 1732. From the 
beginning these rights were asserted and applied. The 
Virginians organized their House of Burgesses in 1619, 
after the model of the House of Commons. In 1620 the 
Pilgrims, while yet on board the " Mayflower," drew up 
and signed the famous compact which implied the posses- 
sion of all these rights, and which was the first written 
constitution in America. It was the civil experience of 
the people of England that laid the foundations of repre- 
sentative government in the colonies. 

65. The Colonial Governments. — The colonial govern- 
ments were organized under the tripartite form of execu- 
tive, legislative and judiciary, but these departments were 
not distinct from each other ; the executive was constantly 
invading the domain of the legislative, and the judiciary 
was not independent. In time the colonies fell into three 
civil groups, known as the Royal, the Proprietary and the 
Charter Colonies. These were alike in one respect, that 
in each colony the freemen elected the members of the 
lower branch of the legislative department, usually called 
the Assembly. This lower house possessed exclusively 

as 



POLITICAL EIGHTS IN COLONIAL AMERICA. 37 

the right to levy taxes and to appropriate the public 
money. In each colony the Assembly was a local House 
of Commons, and in North Carolina it was known by that 
name. In the royal governments all officials save the 
members of Assembly were appointed by the Crown or by 
the colonial governor, himself so appointed. Even the 
legislative branch felt the royal power, because its upper 
house, called in some colonies the Senate, or more com- 
monly the Council, was appointed by the governor. He 
also appointed the ordinary administrative officers, both 
civil and military. In the proprietary governments the 
lord proprietor took the place of the king, and made sim- 
ilar appointments. In the charter governments the mem- 
bers of the legislature and the governor were elected, but 
the judiciary was appointed by the governor. At the time 
of the Revolution, Connecticut and Rhode Island were 
charter governments ; Maryland and Pennsylvania were 
proprietary ; and the remaining nine were royal. 

66. Defects in these Governments. — The lack of a 
foundation on the will of the people was the chief de- 
fect of the colonial governments. They were not demo- 
cratic in character, and government was conducted largely 
by those who could not be held responsible for their acts. 
There was least complaint of this kind in the two charter 
governments, and the evidence of their excellence is their 
continuation long after the Revolution ; Connecticut con- 
tinuing her government under the charter of 1663 until 
the adoption of her constitution of 1818, and Rhode 
Island her charter of 1663 until her constitution of 1842. 
Had all the colonies enjoyed charter governments, the 
Revolution might never have occurred. But in eleven 
colonies the people had slight control over public affairs. 
The royal governors were creatures of the Crown who came 
to America to better their fortunes. The governors sent 
over by the Penns and the Calverts were no better. As no 
act of Assembly could become a law until approved by 



38 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

the governor and finally by the Crown, the people had 
frequent occasion to complain that their governors had 
refused assent " to laws the most wholesome and necessary 
for the public good." If a governor nowadays refuses to 
sign a bill, the legislature may make it a law without his 
assent. The people of the colonies had no means of re- 
dress ; they were at the mercy of their governors, who, by 
declaring what bills they would sign or the king would 
approve, seriously interfered with the independence of the 
legislative and imperilled one of the most important prin- 
ciples of free government. The governors were in no 
sense responsible to the people, though receiving their 
salaries out of the public treasury ; the executives in 
eleven of the colonies were military officials rather than 
civil officers. The whole tendency of royal government 
in America was to make the military superior to the civil 
authority. The governors had the right to assemble, to 
adjourn or to dissolve the colonial legislatures; they 
called the Assemblies together " at unusual, uncomfort- 
able and distant places," for the sole purpose of fatiguing 
them into compliance with their measures ; they frequently 
dissolved them without cause, and by their arbitrary acts 
imperilled the progress and safety of the colonies. Royal 
interference was a subject of common complaint. The 
Assemblies in America thus came to continue the old 
struggle between king and commons. It was the struggle 
between democracy and absolutism, between representa- 
tive government and an unconstitutional monarchy. 

67. Restriction of Colonial Trade and Industry.— 
A fertile source of complaint amongst the colonists was the 
parliamentary legislation which practically prohibited 
colonial trade and arrested the development of American 
resources. The act of Parliament of 1660 compelled the 
shipment of all articles to or from America in English 
ships manned by English sailors The act of 1663 com- 
pelled the colonists to buy all their supplies in England, 



POLITICAL EIGHTS IN COLONIAL AMERICA. 39 

and in England only, and prohibited manufactures in 
America. " Even William Pitt, the friend of America, 
declared that she had no right to manufacture even a nail 
for a horseshoe except by permission of Parliament." The 
act of 1672 compelled the Americans to send their prod- 
ucts from one colony to another either by way of Bris- 
tol, England, and pay duty there, or, if sent directly from 
colony to colony, to pay the duty in America. These laws 
were in force in 1776, and had been strengthened by many 
particular acts of the same nature. 

68. The Question of Taxation. — The struggle between 
the king and the colonists was intensified when the British 
Parliament in 1765 took sides with the king and asserted 
its right to tax America, as he asserted his right to govern it. 
The Americans denied the right of Parliament to tax them, 
and formally set forth their opinions in the Declaration of 
Rights of 1765, in which they said : 

" That it is inseparably essential to the freedom of a people, and the 
undoubted right of Englishmen, that no taxes be imposed on them but 
with their own consent, given personally or by their representatives. 

" That the people of these colonies are not, and from their local cir- 
cumstances cannot be, represented in the House of Commons, in Great 
Britain. 

" That the only representatives of the people of these colonies are per- 
sons chosen therein by themselves ; and that no taxes ever have been ? 
or can be constitutionally imposed on them, but by their respective 
legislatures." 

The adoption of the Declaration of Rights crystallized the 
feelings and opinions of the colonists. At once it began to 
be said in America that the rights of the colonists were 
their ancient and undoubted rights, and that these rights 
were natural ; that the colonial Assemblies were the real 
House of Commons in America, that the real sovereign 
there was the sovereign people, and that the time had ar- 
rived to assert their political and industrial freedom. 



40 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

69. The Declaration of Independence. — At last came 
the inevitable expression of the political and industrial 
rights of the colonists ; it is the Magna Charta of America 
— the great Declaration of 1776. This famous state paper 
discloses the civil and political and industrial claims of the 
people of the thirteen colonies, and concludes with the 
resolution — 

" That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and 
independent States ; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the 
British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the 
State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that 
as free and independent States they have full power to levy war, con- 
clude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other 
acts and things which independent States may of right do. And for 
the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection 
of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our 
fortunes, and our sacred honor." 

70. The Revolution. — The action of the colonists in 
declaring themselves independent resulted in war. The 
king sent over large bodies of troops to compel the colo- 
nists to recognize his authority. These royal troops were 
trained and disciplined soldiers, well supplied with food, 
clothing and all the munitions of war. 

The troops of the colonists were men of peaceful habits, 
w T ho left their farms, their workshops and their homes to 
defend their rights. They w r ere without experience in the 
art of war, poorly equipped with arms and scantily sup- 
plied with food and clothing. On many occasions large 
bodies of troops passed whole days without food, and 
the snow-capped lulls of Valley Forge, reddened with blood 
from their bruised and unshod feet, testified to their devo- 
tion to the cause of liberty and human rights. 

It would seem that the struggle could not long endure, 
and that inevitably the king would conquer. But " there 
is a God that watches over the destinies of nations." 
After eight years of contest of varying fortune, the col- 



42 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

onists were victorious ; the royal troops boarded their 
ships and sailed back to England, and the United States 
of America, free, independent and self-governing, assumed 
its station among the sovereign nations of the earth. 

71. The Colonies become States. — During the war the 
colonies were joined together in a loose federal government 
under the Articles of Confederation. This form of gov- 
ernment proved defective ; it lacked " a supreme executive, 
a supreme legislative and a supreme judiciary." In 1787 
a " more perfect union " was formed by the adoption of the 
Constitution of the United States, which guarantees the 
rights of the States and the rights of the citizen. The 
colonies became States, with written constitutions in w T hich 
the familiar idea of a tripartite government was carefully 
followed. The colony of New Hampshire was the first to 
form a State government in 1775, before the Declaration 
of Independence. Most of the State governments were 
formed about the time of the Declaration. Thus it came 
about that the struggle for political rights in colonial 
America led to our independence and to the organization 
of our government in a dual form — the government of the 
States and the government of the United States. Hence- 
forth government in America is to be a u government of 
the people, by the people and for the people." 

" Liberty is in her new home. Strong hands will sub- 
due the wilderness, and brave hearts will establish an 
empire extending from the frozen regions of the North to 
the sunny climes of the South, from the stormy Atlantic to 
the peaceful Pacific. Through hardship, suffering and 
sacrifice, the great republic of the Western world shall rise 
to become a peer among the nations. Its starry flag shall 
be the emblem of the world's best hope, for to it the op- 
pressed of all the earth shall turn with longing eyes, and 
beneath it there shall be peace and plenty, and the recog- 
nition of the rights of men." 







Part II. 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 



God governs in the affairs of men— Franklin. 

Government, of the People, by the People, for the 
People.— Lincoln. 

The village, or township, is the only association 
which is so perfectly natural that wherever a num- 
ber of men are collected it seems to constitute itself. 
— De Tocqueville. 

To the people we come sooner or later; it is upon 
their wisdom and self-restraint that the stability 
of the most cunningly devised scheme of govern- 
ment will in the last resort depend. — Bryce. 

Not lightly fall beyond recall 
The written scrolls a breath can float; 

Tlxe crowning fact, the kingliest act 

Of freedom is the freeman's vote.— Whittier. 

43 



CHAPTER V. 

THE PEOPLE AND THEIR HOME AFFAIRS.— HOW 
THE PEOPLE GOVERN THEMSELVES. 

72. By the adoption of the Constitution of the United 
States, and the formation of a National and State govern- 
ments, the colonist became a citizen. Both the Federal 
constitution and the State constitutions provided for a 
government of three departments, legislative, executive 
and judicial, and placed the whole power of government 
in the hands of the people themselves. Frequent changes, 
the result of experience, have been made in the forms and 
methods of local government, and at the present time there 
are to be found variations in the forms and methods of lo- 
cal government in the different States. The people govern 
themselves largely through the agency of political parties. 

73. Political Parties.— As soon as the United States 
government was organized the people began to have differ- 
ent ideas about their rights and duties under the Constitu- 
tion. Thus political parties originated among us. The 
power and influence of political parties have increased to 
such an extent that they now form the most important 
agency in the government of the people. 

It is well for the country that the people form different 
political parties. Errors in the administration of govern- 
ment are less likely to occur and are more quickly rem- 
edied when one party keeps a close watch upon the policy 
and actions of its opponents. 

74. Party Committees. — The interests of political par- 
ties are looked after by committees. Each party has a 

44 



THE PEOPLE AND THEIR HOME AFFAIRS. 45 

national, a state, a county, a city, and usually a town- 
ship or town committee. 

75. The Primary or Delegate Election. — The primary 
or delegate election is held for the purpose of choosing 
delegates to a convention at which nominations for office 
are made. At the primary election only those are allowed 
to vote who belong to the party in whose interest the pri- 
mary election is held.* 

76. The Nominating 1 Convention is held for the pur- 
pose of nominating candidates for office. It is composed 
of the delegates elected at the primary election. The del- 
egates represent their whole party. Sometimes there is a 
difference among the delegates in regard to the nomina- 
tions ; if this difference cannot be reconciled, there is said 
to be a " split " in the convention ; but usually each nom- 
inee obtains the unanimous vote of the convention. If the 
split is serious, the dissatisfied members of the party call 
another convention and nominate a ticket to their liking. 
The convention usually places its most available men on 
the ticket. In the convention the availability of a man 
usually counts for more than his ability. The business 
of the convention is to nominate candidates who will win. 
All members of the party are expected to support the 
nominees of the " regular " party convention. A person 
who runs for office without a regular nomination is called 
an independent candidate. The candidates and their 
friends contribute money for a " campaign fund," a name 
given to the money that is used before election for the 
purpose of securing the victory of their party. 

77. State Conventions.— For the choice of candidates 
for State offices the representatives of different political 
parties assemble in their own conventions. The represent- 
atives are delegates locally chosen, and are often under 

* The method of making nominations and conducting elections 
varies, but the method as given in this chapter is the most common. 
See note page 52. 



46 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

promise to support some particular candidate ; such dele- 
gates are said to be " instructed." In State conventions 
nominations are made for governor, lieutenant-governor, 
secretary of state, State treasurer, State auditor, and in 
some of the States for judges of the State supreme court 
and State superintendent of public instruction. 

Members of the State legislature are nominated in con- 
ventions held in State senatorial districts and in State rep- 
resentative districts. 

Members of the national House of Representatives are 
nominated in Congressional district conventions. 

78. National Conventions. — The candidates for the 
Presidency and Vice-Presidency of the United States are 
nominated in a national convention, which is an assembly 
of delegates from all the States and Territories. Each po- 
litical party holds its own convention, which usually con- 
sists of twice as many delegates as the Congress of the 
United States has members.* 

79. Benefits of the Convention. — The convention rep- 
resents the liberty of the citizens to assemble peaceably 
for the transaction of any business in which they are in- 
terested. It originated in New England at the suggestion 
of Samuel Adams, and, with some modifications, has 
spread over the entire country. When honestly conducted 
the convention is a simple means for ascertaining the 
wishes of the people in the nomination of public ser- 

* The development of the political convention in America has kept 
pace with the growth of the conveniences in internal transportation. 
Before 1790 a convention consisted of representatives who could con- 
veniently gather on horseback from a few adjoining towns. With the 
introduction of stage-coaches came county conventions. When the 
canal and the post brought people in closer association, groups of States 
began assembling in convention — a period culminating in 1825. A 
national convention was not possible until after 1850, the period of the 
beginning of railroads, and became a convention in a truly national sense 
only when the telegraph had brought all parts of the country into 
closest relations. 



THE PEOPLE AND THEIR HOME AFFAIRS. 47 

vants. It is the strongest bond of party union and the 
longest lever of political machinery known in America. 

80. Evils of the Convention. — By the abuse of liberty 
politics becomes a trade. Political bargains are made 
between men who by their peculiar influence are able to 
bring out a strong vote for or against a candidate. In the 
convention political influence is paramount. This in- 
fluence is generally legitimate, but when men called 
u bosses " use money or improper influence to carry the 
election, the convention is the place where they concen- 
trate their efforts. At their hands the " campaign fund," 
raised by the party for the purpose of employing political 
speakers, of hiring space in newspapers, of organizing 
political meetings, parades and other influences in the 
interest of the party, is sometimes deflected from its proper 
use and expended in buying votes. Electors may be found 
who are willing to sell their votes to the highest bidder, 
not realizing the immorality and the danger of such po- 
litical corruption. An elector who will sell his vote is as 
faithless and dangerous a citizen as the unscrupulous po- 
litical u boss " who purchases it : political corruption is the 
consequence of their wrong-doing. 

The evils of the convention are far outweighed by its 
advantages, and are the exception, not the rule, in the 
United States. 

81. The Evils should be Remedied. — Sometimes the 
people rise up against the bosses and overthrow them by 
rejecting the nominees of the convention and electing 
others more to their liking. As our entire political system 
of free government in this country starts in the conven- 
tion, it is absolutely necessary for the welfare of the people, 
both in local and in national affairs, that the convention 
be kept just and pure. The responsibility of the citizen 
in such a government as ours requires him to be very bold, 
very just and very persistent in his demands for the purity 
of all political management. The subject is of the greatest 



48 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

practical importance, and touches every right of the citizen, 
industrial, political, social and moral. It cannot be too 
plainly understood that the demoralization of our politics means 
the ruin of our liberties, the overthrow of our institutions and 
our extinction as a nation. The remedy for our political 
evils consists in an active sense of justice and an earnest 
demand for political honesty by every citizen of the 
Republic. 

82. The Campaign. — After the nominations are made 
and publicly announced the campaign begins. Each party 
uses every means in its power for victory over its oppo- 
nents. In local elections the excitement is usually small, 
but sometimes a brilliant campaign in a single State is the 
beginning of a national campaign. The activity of the 
newspapers and of the politicians and the general intelli- 
gence of the electors tend to keep the people familiar with 
the political issues of the day and the principles involved 
in our government, both local and national. 

83. The Electors or Voting Citizens. — The right to 
vote is regulated by the constitution and laws of the sev- 
eral States, subject to the Constitution of the United 
States. The qualifications of the elector vary somewhat 
in different States, but all the States require the elector to 
be of sound mind, of the age of twenty-one years or more, 
and to be a resident in the State, county, township or 
town, city, ward or polling district where he offers his 
vote. Some States require the payment of a tax ; others 
require the ability to read or write. 

84. The Polling-Place. — The polling-place is fixed by 
law; it is the place for depositing the ballots of the elec- 
tors. It is the one place in the United States where " all 
men are equal;'' one vote counts as much as another. 
Each elector here mingles with his political peers, and by 
his ballot endeavors to impress upon the State or nation 
his own ideas or those of his party. This is the place 
where the character of our government, both local and 



THE PEOPLE AND THEIR HOME AFFAIRS. 49 

national, is determined. Our entire civil structure depends 
upon the opinions of the electors. The polling-place is 
under the protection of specific laws passed for the pur- 
pose of maintaining the purity and honesty of elections. 

85. The Right to Vote may be Lost.— The right to 
vote is lost upon conviction of such crimes as treason, 
murder, forgery, bribery, larceny, duelling, election misde- 
meanors, embezzlement of public funds, malfeasance in 
office, and the giving or receiving of money or gifts to in- 
fluence elections. 

86. The Party at the Polls.— Men of the same party 
vote the same ticket. If they are a majority of the elec- 
tors, they elect their candidate ; disputed elections in the 
case of local officers or of State officers are decided by the 
courts : if the dispute concerns an election of a member 
of the State legislature, it is decided by the legislature 
itself. In the Congress of the United States each house 
decides as to the election of its own members. The party 
victorious at the polls becomes the " administration" or the 
party in power* The ideas of the party soon find expres- 
sion in legislation, and affect all the rights, interests and 
duties of the people. This effect of party administration 
may be local, State or federal. If the effect of the party's 

* After the installation of a party in power, changes are made by it 
in the officeholders. Officials not belonging to the administration are 
displaced, and the offices are given to the friends of the administration. 
A great party is usually composed of factions. The leaders of these 
factions make political bargains by which the offices are divided among 
the factions. All political parties in the United States act on the prin- 
ciple " To the victors belong the spoils." In order to prevent the evils 
of the " spoils system," civil-service examinations for government ap- 
pointments have been advocated, which has led to the inauguration of 
our civil-service reform. Applicants for government clerkships in sev- 
eral of the departments are now required to pass written examinations, 
and from the list of persons found to be qualified the appointments are 
made. The cardinal principle of civil service is, " No removal except 
for cause, and no promotion except for merit." 
4 



50 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

administration of the government is believed by the people 
to be injurious to their interests, subsequent elections 
change the administration and commit the government to 
another party. In this way, by frequent elections, public 
servants are held responsible to the people for their ad- 
ministration of the government. 

87. Election Officers. — Each election of public officers 
is under the care of election officers. They are adminis- 
trative officers only ; their duty is to conduct the election 
according to the laws of the State. Usually, the two most 
powerful political parties are equally represented on the 
board of election officers. Proofs of qualification are re- 
quired of all voters at the discretion of the election officers. 

88. Counting" the Votes. — The time of election is 
usually from sunrise to sunset. At the close of the polls 
the vote is officially counted and recorded, and a correct 
report is sent to the court of the county. This report is 
called the return. The return is recorded in the county 
court as a part of the county records. It is the property of 
the State. The official count of the votes is also made 
known for the information of the people. 

89. The Officer Elect. — The person receiving the high- 
est number of votes is elected to the office to which he 
was nominated. Before assuming the duties of the office 
he takes the oath of office, swearing or affirming loyalty 
to the United States and to the State in which he lives if 
he is elected to a local or State office ; but if chosen to a 
Federal office he takes only the oath to support the Con- 
stitution of the United States. The office is then turned 
over to him by the retiring officer. 



90. The Press. — An important factor in matters of gov- 
ernment is to be found in the press. We are a nation of 
newspaper-readers, and many of our political ideas are 
derived from them. Usually, the press is to be found on 
the side of good government. It influences the individual 



THE PEOPLE ANT) THEIR HOME AFFAIRS. 51 

elector; it influences the political convention; it advo- 
cates public reforms; and frequently, by consolidating 
public opinion, it compels negligent officials to admin- 
ister their offices with a view to the public welfare. The 
press is free, and its freedom is guarded by all of our con- 
stitutions ; hence public affairs are constantly subject to 
its scrutiny and criticism, and it thus becomes a valuable 
aid in helping the people to govern themselves. 

91. The Town Meeting. — Another important agency 
in matters of local government is the town meeting. The 
town meeting originated in New England, but it existed 
and flourished in all the colonies in the form of a public 
assembly. Samuel Adams is called "the father of the 
town meeting." It is the voice of public opinion directed 
to the discussion of current questions. Of late years, in 
some sections of the country, the town meeting has 
assumed new features ; frequently, when a public ques- 
tion interests a community for any length of time, a town 
meeting is called and the question openly discussed. It 
thus becomes a living expression of public feeling, and 
has a powerful influence in moulding the opinions and ac- 
tions of those in authority. Such a town meeting is to be 
distinguished from the town meeting which assembles for 
the purpose of transacting the civil business of the town. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE STATE AND THE TERRITORY. 

<k>**;cx> 

The State. 

92. Its Nature. — A State is a political community of 
free citizens, occupying a territory of defined boundaries, 
and organized under a government sanctioned and limited 
by a written constitution and established by the consent 
of the governed. Each State or commonwealth main- 
tains a republican form of government.* 

* The general form of government in the different States is practically 
the same. Each State has its executive, legislative and judicial depart- 
ments and officers, as required by the State constitution, and each has ad- 
ministrative departments and officers, some of which are required by the 
constitution and some of which have been created by enactments of the 
State legislature or General Assembly. Local interests in a State will 
sometimes require the creation of an office unknown in other States, and 
there will frequently be found variations in the manner and method of 
accomplishing certain objects, in the number and names of officers and 
offices and in other minor matters of detail. In one State the title se- 
lectman has the significance of councilman or alderman in other States. 
The courts in which the estates of deceased persons are settled is in one 
State called the Orphans' Court ; in another State it is called the Pro- 
bate Court, in another the Surrogate's Court. In one State the highest 
State court is known as the Supreme Court, in another as the Court of 
Appeals, and in another as the Superior Court. In one State an officer 
performs a certain duty which in another State is performed by an en- 
tirely different officer. What is done in one State by a single officer, 
in another State may be the duty of a board of officers. A form or cus- 
tom common in one State may not be found in another State. The study 
"of the causes of these variations usually discloses the fact that they are 
52 



THE STATE AND THE TEBBITOMY. 53 

93. Its Government. — The government of the State is 
tripartite, and is vested in three departments, legislative, 
executive and judicial; it is entrusted by the people of 
the State, under a written constitution, to law-making, 
law-executing and law-judging officers. 

94. The General Assembly or Legislature.— The legis- 
lative department is vested in two independent bodies 
called respectively the House of Representatives, the lower 
house, and the Senate, the upper house. The two. houses 
comprise the General Assembly or State legislature. The 
legislature makes the laws for the State, which must not 
conflict with the Federal Constitution nor with that of the 
State, or they may be declared unconstitutional by the 
courts, and therefore null and void. These laws provide 
for the dealings of the citizens with each other, such as 
making contracts and partnerships, buying and selling 
lands, houses, goods and property of all kinds, making 
mortgages, deeds, promissory notes, checks, etc., for the 
organization and government of corporations such as in- 
surance, railroad and telegraph companies, for the pre- 
vention and punishment of crime, for the establishment 
and support of charitable and educational institutions, for 
establishing and regulating courts, for the government of 
counties, cities, boroughs and townships, for the method of 
procedure in courts, for the qualifications of electors and 
all other matters in which the citizens of the State may 
have any interest.* It is the duty of the legislature to 

ancestral in their origin. A section of the country the residents of which 
are of German descent will show differences in local matters from a 
section whose residents are of English or Scotch-Irish lineage. It 
should be remembered that these variations are merely matters of form ; 
they do not conflict with the general plan of government, but, on the 
contrary, may be taken as evidences of an effort to secure the best form 
of local government. The details of the government of any State can be 
disclosed only by a study of the constitution of that particular State, 
and of the forms and methods in use therein. 

* Laws are made by the State legislature practically in the same 



54 CIVIL GOVERNMENT, 

make such laws as will promote the general welfare of the 
people of the State. All the laws of the State are enacted 
"by the authority of the people of the State." 

The State is divided by the legislature for election pur- 
poses into representative or assembly districts, State sena- 
torial districts and congressional districts. The repre- 
sentative districts are the most numerous, and are arranged 
with reference to local interests. The senatorial districts 
are arranged with reference to groups of interests, such as 
those of a county or of a city. The term of service for the 
House of Representatives is shorter than that for the 
Senate. The powers of the two houses are generally the 
same, except that usually the lower house has the exclu- 
sive right of impeachment, to levy taxes and to originate 
bills for the expenditure of money, while the Senate has 
the exclusive right of trying impeached officers, and of con- 
firming appointments made by the governor. The time 
allowed by law for the meeting of the legislature is called 
the session. The regular session varies in different States 
from forty to one hundred and fifty days. The ten- 
dency in the later constitutions is to limit the length of 
the session and to make it biennial. Legislators are paid 
a salary for their services, and they are allowed a sum of 
money called mileage to pay their traveling expenses in 
going to and returning from a session of the legislature ; 
they have also an allowance for stationery and postage. 

95. The Executive. — The executive is the governor, 
elected for a term of years. He is required to advise the 
General Assembly of the condition of the State, and rec- 
ommend to its consideration such measures as he may 
deem necessary and expedient. It is his duty to see that 
the laws are faithfully executed. He represents the unity 



manner as by Congress (see page 73, 1f 132). The essential features are, 
approval by a majority of both houses and by the governor ; or, if the 
governor does not approve, then subsequent approval by two-thirds of 
both houses. 



THE STATE AND THE TERRITORY. 55 

and power of the people of the State. He is commander- 
in-chief of the militia of the State, except when it is 
called into the service of the United States. He nominates 
to the legislature, usually to the State Senate, all State 
officers not elected by the people, and officers to fill va- 
cancies until an election is held. He commissions all 
officers whom he appoints. He has the power to grant 
reprieves and pardons, except in cases of impeachment ; * 
he signs bills passed by the legislature if he approve of 
them, or, if he disapprove, he refuses to sign, which re- 
fusal is called a veto. In some States he may disapprove 
a part of an appropriation bill and approve the remainder. 
Usually he has the power to call the Senate together for 
the purpose of transacting executive business, and to call 
the General Assembly together on extraordinary occasions. 

96. The Judiciary. — The judicial power of the State 
is vested in the supreme court, called in some of the States 
the court of appeals, and in such lower courts as may be 
established by the constitution of the State or the Gen- 
eral Assembly. The State constitution prescribes the 
mode of election or appointment of the judges and the 
jurisdiction of the courts. Most of the cases decided 
in the supreme court are brought before it by appeal 
from the lower courts, although it also decides cases 
that originate in the supreme court. The decision of the 
supreme court of the State is final, excepting for a certain 
class of cases designated by the Federal Constitution, which 
cases may be appealed to the United States courts.f 

97. Administrative Officers. — The State constitution 
and the laws of the State provide also for officers connect- 
ed with the executive department, whose duties are chiefly 

* In some States the governor can exercise the pardoning power only 
on the recommendation of a board of pardons provided for by the con- 
stitution of the State. 

f In Massachusetts and Khode Island the term of service of the 
judges in the supreme court of the State is for life. In Delaware the 



56 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

to administer the laws. These officers vary in the different 
States, but usually there is — 

1. The lieutenant-governor, who presides in the State 
Senate, and in case of the absence, disability or death of 
the governor succeeds him as governor of the State. 

2. The secretary of state, w 7 ho is the agent of official 
communication between the State and other States and 
the United States. He is the keeper of the archives of the 
State, and prints or causes to be printed the laws as they 
are passed. He attests the signature of the governor in 
all official documents. 

3. The State treasurer, who is the keeper of the moneys 
belonging to the State. He is under bonds with sufficient 
securities. He receives all money raised by taxation for 
State purposes, all fines, penalties and revenue from the 
sale of State lands and other sources, and pays out money 
upon warrants duly presented to him according to law. 

4. The State auditor, who examines the financial ac- 
counts of all State officers and makes an annual report of 
the condition of the finances of the State. His duties 
are of great importance in determining the exact financial 
condition of the State. 

5. The attorney-general of the State, who is the legal 
adviser of the governor and of the heads of departments. 
His opinions have great weight in influencing the governor 
in the exercise of his executive duties. 

6. The State superintendent of public instruction, who 

judges retire at seventy years of age. In the remaining States the 
judges serve for a definite term, varying from a term of two years in 
Vermont to a term of twenty-one years in Pennsylvania. In six of the 
States— Connecticut, Georgia, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont 
and Virginia— the judges are elected by the State legislature. In four 
States— Delaware, Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Jersey— the judges 
are appointed by the governor with the approval of the State Senate, 
In Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire the judges are appointed 
by the governor with the approval of the council. In the remaining 
States the judges are elected by the people. 



THE STATE AND THE TERRITORY. 57 

is the chief officer in the State system of public schools. 
He has in his care the public educational interests of the 
people of the State. He decides questions of law and of 
procedure in school affairs, and his decisions are usually 
upheld by the courts. He reports the condition and needs 
of the schools to the legislature. His principal duty is to 
secure uniformity, harmony and efficiency in the public 
schools. 

7. Each State has usually a State librarian, who is in 
charge of the State library ; a State printer ; an insurance 
commissioner, who examines into the condition of the 
various insurance companies doing business in the State ; 
and railroad or canal commissioners, whose duty it is to 
examine into the operations of all railroad and canal com- 
panies so far as the business of these companies comes 
within the jurisdiction of the State. 

There are other officers, commissioners, boards, bureaus, 
etc., created to meet the varying wants and interests of the 
different States. All officials whose duties are adminis- 
trative make annual reports to the State legislature of the 
condition of the public interests committed to their charge. 
These reports are published by the legislature as public 
documents for general distribution. 

98. The Supreme Law of the State. — The supreme 
law of a State is its constitution. The people of a State 
have the right to frame a new constitution at their pleas- 
ure. Several States have had two or more constitutions. 
From time to time public opinion changes, and laws and 
constitutions reflect these changes. The tendency of Amer- 
ican thought in the past century has been toward greater 
liberality in opinion, politically, industrially, socially and 
morally. The old " blue laws " of Connecticut would not 
be tolerated now. The greatest changes in the State con- 
stitutions and laws have been made in the recognition of 
political and civil rights. 

The rights secured by the constitution and laws of the 



58 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

State are — personal security, personal liberty, private 
property, protection of public property, freedom of wor- 
ship, freedom of speech and of the press, trial by jury, 
public meeting, the writ of habeas corpus, the obligation 
of contracts, the exemption of the citizen from unreason- 
able searches and seizures of his person or of his effects, 
and from cruel and unusual punishments ; and the su- 
premacy of civil over martial law. (See ^[ 63, page 34.) 

99. State Institutions. — For the welfare of its people 
the State maintains various public institutions. For the 
support of asylums, penitentiaries, reformatories, prisons, 
scientific institutions, schools, colleges and universities the 
State makes grants of land or appropriations of money. 
Appropriations for these and for other purposes compel 
the levying of a tax upon the people of the State. 

100. Taxation. — The right of the State to tax property 
within its limits is a sovereign right necessary to the 
existence of the State. Taxation is just, necessary and 
advantageous both for the State and for the individual. 
A tax is a contribution imposed on citizens and on corpo- 
rations for the service of the State. This service consists 
in the maintenance of the State government for the pro- 
tection of the industrial, political, social and moral rights 
of the people. A single individual alone could not 
protect his rights, but by association in government all 
individuals are protected. The tax paid by the individ- 
ual is not sufficient of itself to obtain for him all the 
rights to which he is entitled ; it would not educate his 
children, nor pay a person to protect his property, nor 
maintain good roads. When every individual is taxed, 
and the State thus obtains a large sum of money, the 
means is provided for the protection of all the rights of 
each individual. That which could not be accomplished 
by the individual alone is easily accomplished by the 
association of individuals in government and by a system 
of public taxation. 



THE STATE AND THE TERRITORY. 59 

101. Income of the State. — The income of the State is 
derived from taxes, fines, penalties, licenses, charters, fees 
of administrative officers, land sales, interest on loans, 
profits on industries engaged in by the State, the sale of 
franchises to corporations, from the estates of persons 
dying without heirs, whose property by law becomes the 
property of the State, and from various other sources. 

102. Title to Land in the State. — When the Amer- 
ican colonies became States, each State became the source 
of all land titles within its own jurisdiction. If the title 
to the land is vested in any private person, he holds it 
subject to the perpetual claim of the State for taxes on the 
property. 

103. Boundaries of the State. — The boundaries of 
the original thirteen States were determined by royal 
charters and by actual settlement. The king and his 
advisers were totally ignorant of the geography of Amer- 
ica, and the charters bred hopeless confusion in colonial 
boundaries which led to disputes between some of the 
States.* Every State boundary has been accurately sur- 
veyed. Some State lines have become historic, as the 
southern boundary of Pennsylvania known as Mason and 
Dixon's line, after the names of the two surveyors who in 
1766 marked off the line as decided by the English Board 
of Trade. They placed the arms of Pennsylvania on the 
north face of the boundary-stones, and on the south face 
the arms of Lord Baltimore. The boundary owes its fame 
to the fact that it became the boundary between two in- 
dustrial sections of the country. The Supreme Court of 
the United States alone has the authority to settle disputes 
as to the boundaries of a State. 

104. Regularity of "Western States.— When a new 

* Perm's deed from King Charles specifies " A tract of land in America 
lying north of Maryland, on the east bounded by the Delaware Eiver, 
on the west limited as Maryland is, and northward to extend as far as 
plantable." 



60 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

State is admitted into the Union, Congress fixes its area 
and boundaries. The States formed by Congress out of 
the public domain, and their county divisions, are quite 
regular in contour. The difference between the contour 
and the county divisions of the old States and those of 
the new States shows how a strong national government 
can determine the shape and dimension of States.* 

The Territory. 
105. Government in a Territory. — Government in a 
Territory is tripartite. The governor, the judges, the sec- 
retary of the Territory, the marshal «and the attorney for 
the Territory are appointed by the President, with the con- 
sent of the Senate, for a term of four years. The Terri- 
torial legislature consists of two houses, the Council and 
the House of Representatives, elected by the qualified 
electors in the several districts into which the Territory is 
divided. The legislature is empowered, by act of Congress, 
to make laws for the government of the Territory, and these 
laws, having been approved by Congress, prevail in the Ter- 
ritory. All township, district and county officers are either 
elected or appointed, according to the provisions of Terri- 
torial law. The electors in a Territory do not vote for 
Presidential Electors. Every Territory is entitled to send 
a delegate to the House of Representatives of the United 
States, to serve during the term of Congress to which he is 
elected. He is chosen by the qualified voters in the Ter- 
ritory. A delegate's function is to inform Congress of the 
condition and wants of the Territory which he represents. 
The delegate has the right of debating, but not of voting, 
in Congress. Each Territory is divided into three judicial 
districts, and has a supreme court and three district courts. 
There are also justices' courts. The marshal of the Terri- 



* Compare a map of Virginia with a map of Kansas. Notice the 
irregular contour of the former State and of its counties and townships 
compared with the latter. 



THE STATE AND THE TERRITORY. 61 

tory executes all processes of the Territorial courts, and 
performs, in general, the duties of a sheriff in a State. 
The attorney for the Territory performs duties similar to 
those of an attorney-general of a State. All Territorial 
officers appointed by the President are paid salaries out of 
the treasury of the United States, and Congress annually 
appropriates an amount for the expenses of the Territorial 
legislature which is the limit of legislative expenses in that 
Territory. 

106. How a Territory becomes a State. — When the 
people of a Territory desire admission into the Union as a 
State, they elect delegates to a Territorial constitutional 
convention, which frames a State constitution and sub- 
mits it for approval to the electors of the Territory. If ap- 
proved, this constitution, with the petition of the Terri- 
torial legislature asking admission as a State, is presented 
by the Territorial delegate to the Committee on Territories 
in Congress. The committee, if favorable to the admission 
of the Territory, presents a bill which, if passed, becomes 
the enabling act permitting the admission of the Territory. 
Sometimes the people of the Territory do not frame a con- 
stitution until Congress has passed the enabling act. In 
either case Congress must approve of the constitution, 
define the boundaries and determine the name of the 
new State. The new State organizes its civil government 
under its constitution, and its admission into the Union is 
formally proclaimed by the President of the United States. 

107. Definition of Government. — Having traced Gov- 
ernment from rude beginnings among savage tribes to 
some of its highest results among civilized people, we are 
now ready for a statement of its meaning. Government is 
the direction and control of human interests, and is founded 
upon human rights. 

Note. — The government of the city, the county, the township, town 
or parish varies in the different States, and it is left to the teacher in 
any locality to explain the nature and duties of local officers, whether 



62 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

elected or appointed, etc. Each community has officers whose duties 
are executive, judicial, legislative or administrative in character. The 
study of these duties, and of the variations and peculiarities in the forms 
of local government, will prove interesting and profitable for the class. 
Local government can be studied best at first hands. In the township, 
town or parish a visit to the nearest justice, and in the county a trip to 
the county-seat, will secure any needed information. The local news- 
paper, local customs and usages, anecdotes and traditions, can be used 
to advantage in making the study of local government interesting. In 
large cities a manual of the city government is generally published by 
the city authorities, and any needed information in regard to the gov- 
ernment of small cities can be obtained from any of its officers. (See 
Questions page 216.) 

The terms township and town have a varying significance in the United 
States. In the States in which the system of government surveys has 
been followed the congressional township is simply a tract of land six 
miles square. It has no governmental organization, and, politically, 
has no connection with the county. In the Middle States a township is 
a political division of the county, and is the unit of government. A 
town in the Middle States is a large village, a borough or a small city. 
In New England there is no township division of counties ; the town is 
the unit of government, and the county is made up of towns. The term 
parish, used in some of the Southern States, has the significance of the 
town in New England and of the township in the Middle States. In 
Louisiana the county is known as the parish. (See page %4, If ^-) 




Part III 



oXXo 



THE NATION. 



The Nation is formed as a poiver on the earth. It 
is invested with power of God ; its authority is con- 
veyed through no intermediate hands, but is given 
of God. It is clothed with His majesty on the earth. 
It is ordained of God to do His service.— Mulford. 

You will have to look bach upon a century of 
national advancement without a parallel in history, 
and to look forward to its probable continuance upon 
a still larger scale, with an accumulation of high 
duties and responsibilities proportioned to an ever- 
growing power.— Gladstone. 

To the efficiency and permanency of your Union a 

government for the whole is indispensable 

Tlxis government, the offspring of your own choice, 
uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full in- 
vestigation and mature deliberation, completely free 
in its principles, in the distribution of its powers 
uniting security with energy, and containing with- 
in itself the provisions for its own amendment, has 
a just claim to your confidence and your support. 
Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, 
acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by 
the fundamental maxims of true liberty.— Washing- 
ton. 

63 



CHAPTER VI I. 

THE LAW-MAKERS AND THE LAWS. 

108. Sources of Our Laws. — When the authority of 
the king of England was overthrown in America, the peo- 
ple became the source of law, and they have delegated 
this power to the State legislatures and to Congress. In 
order to make plain the powers thus delegated, the State 
constitutions and the Constitution of the United States 
declare what law-making powers exist in the State and in 
the national legislature. The Constitution thus becomes 
the guide in all law-making. 

The councils of a city make the laws for the city. The 
State legislature makes the laws for the State. The Con- 
gress of the United States makes the laws for the nation. 
Its laws are called acts. An act or law of Congress, if in 
conformity with the Constitution of the United States, 
becomes one of the supreme laws of the land until it is 
repealed by Congress or expires by limitation of time. 

But our laws really are made by the people, because the 
law-makers are the representatives of the people.* 



* Local-Option and Prohibition Laws. — The evils of intemper- 
ance have led to organized efforts in various States to control the manu- 
facture and sale of intoxicating liquors. The legislatures of some of 
the States have passed laws restricting or prohibiting the manufacture 
and sale of alcoholic liquors. These laws have been sustained by the 
Supreme Court of the United States as constitutional and within the 
power of a State legislature. In other States the legislatures have 
enacted laws by which the restriction or prohibition of the sale of 
liquor is left to the vote of the electors in each county, town or township. 
The sale of liquor is thus determined by the option of the locality voting, 
and such localities are said to exercise " local option." Efforts have 
04 



THE LAW-MAKERS AND THE LAWS. 65 

109. The Congress. — When our national Constitution 
was under discussion in 1787 two political parties were in 
the Convention : one party wished to base the Constitution 
upon the States; the other wished to base it upon the 
people. By a peaceful compromise both methods were 
followed in the organization of our national legislature. 
The Congress has two houses : one, the Senate, represents 
the States ; the other, the House of Representatives, repre- 
sents the people — the two comprise the national legisla- 
ture. The tw T o branches of the legislature must act together 
in making a law. 

110. The House of Representatives. — Once in two 
years the electors in each State choose members of the 
House of Representatives. Any person who by the law of 
the State is qualified to vote for a member of the lower 
house in the State legislature may vote for a Representative 
in Congress. The election of Congressmen throughout 
the Union, with few exceptions, is held on the Tuesday 
after the first Monday of November.* 

111. Qualifications of a Representative. — A Repre- 
sentative must be twenty-five years of age, a citizen of the 
United States seven years and an inhabitant of the State 
in which he is elected. National citizenship is of more 
importance than State citizenship in the qualifications of 
a Representative : he may not have resided in the State 
long enough to gain a State residence, but he may be 
qualified as a citizen of the United States to become a 
member of the House of Representatives. 

been made to amend the Federal Constitution and the constitutions of 
several of the States by adding a clause forbidding the manufacture, sale 
or importation of alcoholic liquors. 

* Paragraphs 110-221, inclusive, present a study of the Constitution 
of the United States in its three departments, legislative, executive 
and judicial. In addition to the explanation of the text of the Consti- 
tution, the working of the national government is illustrated and ex- 
plained. 



66 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

112. Number of Representatives. — The membership 
of the House is fixed by act of Congress. Originally there 
was one Representative for every 33,000 inhabitants. Pop- 
ulation has increased so rapidly that had this apportion- 
ment continued the present membership of the House 
of Representatives would be over eighteen hundred. To 
avoid so great a number, Congress every ten years reap- 
portions the representation. From 1893 till 1903 the 
membership is one Representative for every 173,901 in- 
habitants, and Congress apportions its present number, 
356 members, among the States. The legislature of each 
State divides the State into as many congressional dis- 
tricts as it has Representatives in Congress.* 

113. Vacancies in the House. — When a vacancy occurs 
in the representation of any State the governor of that 
State calls a new election, and the people choose a person 
to fill the vacancy. 

114. Officers of the House of Representatives. — The 
House chooses its own officers, consisting of a speaker— 
who is a member of the House — and a clerk, a sergeant-at- 
arms, a doorkeeper, a postmaster and a chaplain, who are 
not members of the House. 

The Speaker is the principal officer of the House. He 
is chosen by his fellow-members, and usually by the mem- 
bers of his own party only. He is the third officer in the 
Government in rank, and as he represents the people and 
names all the committees of the House, thus shaping leg- 
islation, he is next to the President in power. When the 
Speaker is about to be elected, the clerk of the last House 
presides until the election has been made. Members of 
the House draw lots for their seats, but members of the 
same political party sit on the same side of the hall. 

The clerk keeps all the business of the House in order, 
but has nothing to do with the making of the laws. 



* See Table, p. 211, 



THE LAW-MAKERS AND THE LAWS. 67 

The sergeant-at-arms is the police officer of the House 
and sees that good order is observed. During the session, 
behind his seat, stands the symbol of the power of the 
House of Representatives, a slender bundle of ebony 
sticks bound about and tied with silver bands. Each 
stick ends in a spear-head, and in the midst of the bundle 
of spears projects a short column surmounted by a silver 
globe upon which stands a silver eagle with outspread 
wings. This symbol of power is known as the "mace." 
It rests upon a marble standard when the House is in ses- 
sion, and is taken down when the session closes. In case 
of disorder in the House, or disturbance among the mem- 
bers, the sergeant-at-arms takes down the mace and moves 
toward the place of disorder. At sight of the mace every 
Representative becomes orderly. He knows that this 
ancient symbol, used for centuries in the Roman Senate, 
is the symbol of the power of the people of the United 
States. 

The doorkeeper has charge of the room of the House 
of Representatives. 

Each daily session of the House is opened with prayer 
by the chaplain. 

115. Oath of Office.— As soon as the Speaker is elected 
he is escorted to the Speaker's chair by the member of the 
House who has served the greatest number of terms— called 
on that account "the father of the House"— who adminis- 
ters the oath of office to the new Speaker. The Speaker 
then administers the oath to the new members, who come 
up before him by States for that purpose. The oath is a 
solemn promise to support the Constitution and the laws 
of the United States and to perform the duties of office 
faithfully, with the help of God. The oath is taken by 
every member at the beginning of the session. The 
House is now ready for business, and the Speaker an- 
nounces the committees he has chosen. The leading 
committees are— Ways and Means, Banking and Currency, 



68 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

Appropriations, Commerce, Rivers and Harbors, Foreign 
Affairs, Railways and Canals, Manufactures, Education, 
Labor, Patents, Pensions, Claims, Expenditures in the 
Various Departments, Enrolled Bills, Agriculture and 
Elections. 

116. The Senate. — The Senate of the United States is 
composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by its 
legislature for the term of six years. Each Senator has 
one vote. Several instances are on record of a Senator 
serving for four consecutive terms. 

117. Qualifications of a Senator. — A Senator must be 
thirty years of age, a citizen of the United States for nine 
years, and an inhabitant of the State for which he is 
chosen. 

118. Vacancies in the Senate. — If a vacancy occurs 
in the Senate during a recess of the State legislature, the 
governor of the State appoints a person to act as Senator 
until the legislature meets and fills the vacancy. 

119. Officers of the Senate. — The officers of the Sen- 
ate are the President, the secretary, the sergeant-at-arms, 
the chaplain, the postmaster, the librarian, and the door- 
keeper. None of these are members of the Senate. 

The Vice-President of the United States, elected by the 
people, is the President of the Senate, but he has no vote 
unless the Senate is equally divided. The other officers 
are chosen by the Senate, and their duties are similar to 
the duties of corresponding officers in the House of Rep- 
resentatives. 

120. Oath of Office.— The Vice-President of the United 
States, when inaugurated, takes the oath of office, and 
when he meets with the Senate on the first day of the ses- 
sion he administers the oath to the new Senators, who 
swear to support the Constitution and the laws of the 
United States. 

121. The President pro tempore. — As the Vice-Pres- 
ident may become President of the United States, and as 



THE LAW-MAKERS AND THE LAWS. 69 

he may sometimes be absent from the Senate chamber, it 
might happen that the Senate would have no presiding 
officer. To avoid this difficulty the Senate, on the first 
day of the session or at such time as it pleases, elects, out 
of its own body, a president pro tempore, who presides 
when the Vice-President is absent. 

122. The Committees. — The committees of the Senate 
are not appointed by the Vice-President, but by a special 
committee from the Senate itself. The Senate committees 
change but little from year to year, and the Senator of the 
majority party longest on a committee is generally its 
chairman. The leading committees of the Senate are 
Commerce, Finance, Foreign Relations, Inter-State Com- 
merce, Judiciary, Executive Departments, Railroads, Im- 
migration, Pensions, Public Lands, and Military and 
Naval affairs. 

123. The Rules. — Each house makes its own rules, is 
the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its 
own members, and a majority of each house constitutes a 
quorum to transact business. There are also joint rules 
agreed to by both houses for mutual convenience. 

124. The Journal. — Each house keeps a journal of its 
proceedings, and publishes it from time to time, except 
such parts as in its judgment require secrecy. 

125. The Session. — Each Congress continues two years 
and has two sessions. The first session, usually called the 
" long session," begins on the first Monday in December 
in the odd years, and continues until adjourned by vote 
of the two houses. The second session, usually called 
the " short session," begins on the first Monday in De- 
cember of the even years, and continues until noon of 
March 4th following. Neither house during the session 
of Congress can, without the consent of the other, adjourn 
for more than three days nor to any other place than that 
in which the two houses are sitting. The sessions of Con- 
gress, except the executive sessions of the Senate, are open 



70 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

to the public. Each house convenes at twelve o'clock 
noon, and the daily session usually continues from four 
to six hours. The flag of the United States is always 
displayed on the Capitol building when Congress is in 
session.* 

126. Impeachment. — The House of Representatives has 
the sole power to institute impeachments, and the Senate 
has the sole power to try impeachments. If the House 
believes that an officer of the Federal Government should 
be impeached, it appoints a committee called the " man- 
aging committee," which presents the articles of impeach- 
ment before the Senate. In case of an impeachment the 
Senate sits as a court and its members are on oath or 
affirmation. If the President of the United States is on 
trial, the chief-justice of the Supreme Court of the United 
States presides in the Senate. In all other cases the Vice- 
President or President pro tempore presides. It would not 
be safe to allow the Vice-President of the United States to 
preside in the trial of the President, because he might be 
anxious to succeed to the Presidency, and therefore might 
decide contrary to the evidence presented by the House of 
Representatives. By constituting the chief-justice of the 
United States the presiding officer this temptation is re- 
moved. 

The first case of impeachment before the Senate, that 
of Senator William Blount in 1799, determined that only 
" civil officers " under the Constitution can be impeached, 
and that a United States Senator is not a civil officer. The 
cases that have come before the Senate since that time 
are — 1803, Judge John Pickering of the District Court of 
the United States, who became insane, was tried and ac- 
quitted ; 1804, Judge Samuel Chase of the Supreme Court 

* The first session of the Fiftieth Congress began Monday, Dec. 5, 
1887, and adjourned Oct. 20, 1888, being the longest session in our his- 
tory. The second session began Monday, Dec. 3, 1888, and adjourned 
March 4, 1889. 






THE LAW-MAKERS AND THE LAWS. 71 

of the United States, acquitted; 1830, Judge James H. 
Peek of the Federal District Court, acquitted ; 1862, Judge 
W. H. Humphries of the Federal District Court, convicted 
and disqualified from holding any office of honor, trust or 
profit under the United States, because found guilty of 
treason ; 1868, President Andrew Johnson, acquitted ; and 
1876, Secretary of War W. W. Belknap, acquitted. A 
person impeached under the Constitution, and convicted, 
is liable also to indictment, trial, judgment and punish- 
ment according to law. Each house, with the concurrence 
of two-thirds of its members, may expel a member or 
otherwise punish him for a breach of its rules. 

127. Compensation of Congressmen. — Senators and 
Representatives are paid $5000 per annum out of the 
Treasury of the United States. In addition to his salary 
each Congressman is allowed $125 a year for postage, 
stationery and newspapers ; and mileage, which is an allow- 
ance of twenty cents a mile for traveling expenses in 
going to and returning from a session of Congress. 

The reason for paying members of Congress from the 
national treasury is to make them independent of State 
influences, to enable them freely to consider the interests 
of the nation and not of their constituencies alone, and to 
enable men of limited means to become members of the 
national legislature. If there were no salary, Congress 
might become a body of wealthy men only, who might 
ignore the wants of their poorer fellow-citizens. 

128. Peculiar Rights of Congressmen. — The national 
law-makers are amenable to the laws of the country, but 
except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace * they 
are privileged from arrest while attending a session of 
Congress and in going to or returning from a session. 

For any speech or debate in either house a Congress- 

* A felony is a crime formerly punishable by death or imprisonment. 
A breach of the peace is a violation of public order amounting to a 
misdemeanor, and is punishable by fine or imprisonment. 



72 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

man cannot be questioned in any other place ; he has full 
liberty of speech, subject to the rules of the house to which 
he belongs. If Congressmen were not peculiarly protected 
in this way, they might be detained on false pretences from 
attending the session of Congress, and if not free to speak 
and debate in Congress their action would be restricted ; 
outside influences would control the business of Congress, 
and law-making would become forced legislation. 

129. Cannot Hold Two Offices. — While a member of 
Congress no Senator or Representative can hold any civil 
office under the Government of the United States, nor can 
any person holding any civil office under the United States 
become a member of either house at the same time. A 
member of Congress may be a State officer, unless the 
constitution of the State forbids; but a member of the 
President's Cabinet cannot while a Cabinet officer become 
a Senator or a Representative. This is unlike the provis- 
ion prevailing in the British Government, which allows a 
Cabinet minister to be a member of Parliament. Nor can 
a member of Congress during his term of service hold an 
office that he has helped to create, otherwise members 
might be tempted to make remunerative offices for their 
own benefit. Another restriction on members of the 
national and of the State legislatures is against bribery : 
members found guilty of receiving bribes for political ser- 
vices are subject to impeachment and subsequent punish- 
ment. A member of Congress cannot accept payment 
from a citizen for any service except for legal services, and 
for some legal services, such as obtaining a pension, the 
law provides that he shall receive no pay. He is a public 
servant. But Congressmen have many pressing public 
duties, and should not be troubled by applications and 
personal matters of a trifling nature.* 

* The Lobby. — Persons interested in obtaining the enactment of 
laws for their own benefit often frequent legislative halls for the pur- 
pose of influencing the votes of legislators. Such influence may some- 



THE LAW-MAKERS AND THE LAWS. 73 

130. Titles. — Every member of Congress is addressed 
as " Honorable/' and if the address is written the house 
to which he belongs is indicated ; as, Hon. J. E. Reyburn, 
M. C. — i. e. Member of the House of Representatives— or, 
Hon. John Sherman, XL S. 8.—i. e. Member of the Senate 
of the United States. 

131. Revenue Bills. — All bills for raising revenue 
must originate in the House of Representatives, but the 
Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on 
other bills. A bill for raising revenue is a bill for levying 
taxes ; the Senate may originate a bill which requires the 
expenditure of money, but the House levies the tax re- 
quired by that particular bill. 

132. How the Laws are Made. — The laws of Con- 
gress are made in a uniform manner. If a bill is intro- 
duced by a member of the House of Representatives, 
the Speaker at once refers it to the proper committee * 
The member gives the bill to the clerk of the House, who 
hands it to the clerk of the committee. Each committee 
has a room for consultation, and there, at the committee's 
pleasure, the bill is taken into consideration ; if the com- 
mittee delay too long in considering it, the member makes 
inquiry about his bill. If the committee are favorable to 
the bill, they report their decision to the House. Each 
committee has a day on which to report, and the report 
of the committee for the day takes precedence over other 
business, unless some particular business is made the order 

times be legitimate, but usually it is pernicious. " Lobbying " is the 
name given to such influence by way of reproach. Lobbying may be- 
come the bribery or the intimidation of legislators, and defeat the very 
end of good government — the free expression of the will and the wel- 
fare of the people. 

* Any citizen of the United States may originate a bill and send it 
to a member of Congress, who introduces it or places it before Congress 
for its action. Many of the laws made by Congress have their origin 
in bills presented by request or petition of private citizens. This shows 
how closely the Government represents the immediate will of the people. 



74 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

for the day by vote of the House. When the report of 
the committee is received, the clerk takes the bill as the 
committee report it, and has it printed for distribution 
among the members. The bill is read three times by the 
clerk on three separate days ; the House may order the 
three readings to be all on one day, but if a single mem- 
ber objects it must be read on three separate days. After 
the second reading it is debated and amendments may be 
made. The clerk then engrosses the bill, and reads it a 
third time to the House, when it is voted upon as an en- 
tire bill — that is, as it has been amended — and if it re- 
ceives a majority of votes of all the members, it is passed. 
The bill is then taken by the clerk to the Senate, to which 
body the clerk in a formal manner announces that the bill 
has been passed by the House and that the concurrence 
of the Senate is desired. 

The President of the Senate refers the bill to the com- 
mittee of the Senate having such bills in charge, by 
whom it is duly considered and reported to the Senate. 
The secretary of the Senate reads the bill twice on differ- 
ent days. After the second reading it is debated. The 
Senate may amend by adding to or by taking from the 
bill as it came from the House. After the amendments 
are made and additions to the bill are engrossed, the bill 
is again read, and, if agreed to, is passed by the Senate. 
The secretary of the Senate brings the bill to the House, 
by which the Senate amendments are debated, and if the 
amendments are agreed to the bill is passed. In both 
houses, on the final passage of a bill, the vote must be 
taken by yeas and nays, and the names of the members 
and the way they voted must be entered on the journal of 
each house respectively. When the House has adopted 
the amendments as made by the Senate, the clerk of the 
House so informs the Senate, and the committee of the 
House known as the Committee on Enrolled Bills causes 
the bill to be accurately written in large script on parch- 



THE LAW-MAKERS AND THE LAWS. 75 

ment. The Speaker of the House signs this enrolled bill, 
and informs the Representatives of his official action. 
Again the clerk of the House carries the now enrolled 
and partially signed bill to the Senate, and declares to 
that body that the Speaker of the House has signed 
the bill. The President of the Senate signs the bill, 
stating the fact to the Senate. The bill is then returned to 
the House, where it goes to the Committee on Enrolled 
Bills, who present it to the President of the United States 
for his signature. If he approves of the bill, he signs it, 
and sends his private secretary to the House announcing 
the fact. The President of the United States takes the bill 
and in person gives it to the Secretary of State, who 
causes it to be deposited among the archives of the 
Department of State, first having an accurate copy or 
copies made of the bill by the public printer. The bill 
has at last become a law. If the bill originates in the Sen- 
ate, the Senate takes the initiative in every step of the his- 
tory of the bill, and the President, having signed it, reports 
that fact to the Senate instead of to the House. All that 
now remains is for the President to see that the law is 
faithfully executed. 

If the President of the United States does not approve 
of the bill, he returns it to the house in which it orig- 
inated, with a message setting forth his objections to the 
bill and his reasons for not signing it. If any bill is not 
returned by the President within ten days (Sundays ex- 
cepted) after it has been presented to him, the bill becomes 
a law without his signature, unless Congress by adjourn- 
ment prevent its return. If he returns the bill unsigned, 
he is said to veto the bill, but if two-thirds of each house 
re-pass the bill over the veto, it becomes a law without the 
President's signature. Congress then sends the law to the 
Department of State, and the President is bound by his 
oath of office to see that the new law is " faithfully exe- 
cuted." 



76 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

State legislatures and city councils make their laws 
mainly in the same manner as Congress. The veto power 
of the governor of a State and of the mayor of a city is 
similar to that of the President of the United States, and 
the action of the State legislature and the city council on 
a vetoed bill is similar to that of Congress. 

In the making of a law all the purposes of our political 
machinery are made plain. The convention, the cam- 
paign, the election, the induction into office, the oath, the 
division into political parties, the divisions of the powers 
of government, the exercise of political rights, are merely 
for the purpose of making a law. It follows, therefore, 
that the laws of a people are a complete expression of 
their civil government. 

133. Government by Committees. — The government 
by Congress is government by committees of the two 
houses. These committees determine the form and much 
of the character of all our laws. The debates are a dis- 
cussion of the reports of the various committees. A com- 
mittee may send for persons and papers ; it hears evi- 
dence ; listens to pleadings from the advocates and the 
opponents of measures before it; and its report usually 
decides the fate of the measure. In the business of legis- 
lation, both in Congress and in the States, the committees 
are the principal factor. By possessing the power to ap- 
point the committees, the Speaker of the House becomes, 
in many respects, the most influential citizen of the 
Republic. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

WHAT CONGRESS MAY DO. 

134. Powers Granted to Congress. — The powers 
granted to Congress by the people have always been a 
matter of dispute between political parties in this coun- 
try. One party has favored State rather than congres- 
sional legislation, limiting Congress to matters which are 
strictly of general or national concern. Another party has 
advocated the transfer to Congress of legislation which 
might be done by the States, thus favoring congressional 
rather than State legislation. The subjects of congres- 
sional legislation are stated in the Constitution. 

135. Taxes. — Congress has power to lay and collect 
taxes, duties, imposts and excises in order to pay the 
debts of the United States and to provide for the common 
defence and the general welfare of the country, but all 
duties, imposts and excises must be uniform throughout 
the land. The essential weakness of the old Confedera- 
tion was the inability of Congress to levy taxes for any 
purpose whatever. The right to tax is a supreme right 
which carries with it sovereign power. The Constitution 
allows Congress to tax in several ways : by a direct tax 
upon the people, just as a State levies a State tax ; by an 
indirect tax upon the people by the levying and collecting 
of customs or duties on imports ; and by excises or taxes 
upon home manufactures. 

The revenue of the United States at present is derived 
almost entirely from the duties on imports and from the: 
internal revenue, the latter arising from the taxation on 

77 " 



78 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

banks and on the manufacture and sale of alcoholic 
liquors and tobacco. 

136. Public Credit. — Congress may borrow money on 
the credit of the United States. If a sudden necessity for 
money should arise, taxation would bring the required 
money into the treasury but slowly, and the country 
might be endangered by delay. To avoid this danger, 
Congress is empowered to pledge the faith of the people 
and to borrow money at home or abroad. The national 
debt is a claim against the United States by those persons 
who have loaned money to the Government. The credit 
of the United States is so good that the evidences of this 
debt, called Government bonds, are worth more than their 
face and are much sought for as an investment. 

137. Commerce.— Congress has the exclusive right to 
regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the several 
States and with the Indian tribes. No State can refuse to 
admit the products of another State or levy duties on 
them. Trade between the people of the United States 
must be absolutely free. 

138. Naturalization. — An alien or foreigner who be- 
comes a citizen of the United States is a naturalized 
citizen, and acquires all the rights and privileges of a 
native-born citizen excepting eligibility to the Presidency. 
Congress alone has the power to pass laws regulating the 
naturalization of foreigners. A foreigner may become a 
citizen of the United States, as follows : 

1. He must make application for citizenship by declar- 
ing his intention to become a citizen of the United States. 

2. He must make oath or affirmation that this is his 
intention, and that he voluntarily renounces all allegiance 
to the government of which he had heretofore been a citi- 
zen. A person cannot be a citizen of two governments at 
the same time. 

3. He must make application for citizenship at least two 
years before he can receive his final naturalization papers, 



WHAT CONGRESS MAY DO. 79 

4. He must prove before the court that he has resided in 
this country five years. 

5. Any alien of good moral character, of the age of 
twenty-one years and upward, who has served in the army 
of the United States and who has been honorably dis- 
charged therefrom, may become a citizen on his petition, 
without any previous declaration of intention, provided 
that he has resided in the United States for at least one 
year previous to his application. 

The children of American citizens born abroad are 
American citizens ; children of foreigners residing in this 
country and born here may elect their allegiance.* 

139. Bankruptcy. — Congress has power to pass a law 
by which insolvent debtors may settle their affairs. Three 
such laws have been passed by Congress : the first in 1800, 
which was repealed in 1803; the second in 1841, repealed 
in 1843 ; and the third in 1867, repealed in 1878. Many 
of the States have passed bankrupt laws of their own, but 
a uniform method of settling the affairs of insolvent debt- 
ors is preferable to a different method for each State. 

140. Money. — Congress alone has the authority to coin 
money, to regulate its value and the value of foreign coin, 
to fix the standard of weights and measures, and to pro- 
vide for the punishment of counterfeiting the coin and the 
securities of the United States. 

* There are more than fifteen million foreigners in the United States, 
and the number is constantly increasing. This foreign population con- 
tains elements of weakness as well as of strength for the nation ; in re- 
cent years the immigration has been to a large degree of an undesirable 
class of foreigners, who do not understand, and who are not in sympathy 
with, the Government of the people of the United States. Many thought- 
ful persons have concluded that while all industrious, sound-minded 
and physically healthy people from foreign lands, who are intelligent 
enough to appreciate the privileges of American citizenship, are wel- 
come to our shores, yet it is about time to discriminate between the 
moral and the vicious, the sound and the unsound, who in constantly^ 
increasing numbers are seeking homes in this country. 



80 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

Counterfeiting the coin of the United States is a felony. 
Congress in 1864 passed a law against counterfeiting the 
coin and securities of the United States, and fixed the pen- 
alty at a maximum fine of five thousand dollars and im- 
prisonment for not more than ten years. The laws against 
counterfeiting also protect foreign coin and securities. 

141. "Weights and Measures. — To aid in fixing the value 
or price of articles of merchandise it is necessary to have a 
standard of weights and measures. In Guildhall, the an- 
cient city-hall of London, may be seen several brass strips 
set in the floor. These strips are the standard lengths for 
England of the foot, the yard, the fathom and the rod. In 
the same hall may be found standard weights and meas- 
ures of volumes. In 1827 the United States Government 
obtained accurate copies of the English standards, and 
adopted them as the standards for this country. In 1866 
the metric system was made permissive by act of Con- 
gress, but it is practically limited in its use to scientific 
men, and has never become popular. 

142. The Mails. — The mails represent vast interests, 
and require direction and control by a single authority. 
This authority is vested in Congress. Our common ex- 
pression, " the United States mail," recognizes this author- 
ity. Congress authorizes the creation of mail-routes and 
opens post-roads, a term that a century ago, before the 
introduction of railroads, signified much more than at 
present. The post-road has disappeared with the post-boy, 
and most mail matter is now carried in mail-trains. 

143. Science and Art. — Congress appropriates large 
sums of money to promote the progress of science and 
to undertake costly enterprises for the benefit of the 
people. It has equipped numerous exploring expedi- 
tions for the purpose of ascertaining the best commercial 
routes over the ocean ; expeditions to observe transits of 
the planets and eclipses of the sun ; commissions to study 
the methods of increasing and preserving natural foods, 



WHAT CONGRESS MAY DO. 81 

such as the oyster in our bays and the fish along our 
coasts and in our lakes and rivers. The fish commission, 
the life-saving service, the lighthouse service, the inspection 
of steam- and of sailing-vessels, the enforcement of quar- 
antine regulations, and the organization of commissions to 
investigate questions of grave public interest, such as the 
cause and the control of pestilences and epidemics, are 
illustrations of the measures taken by Congress to promote 
the progress of science. The principal scientific institution 
supported by Congress is the Smithsonian Institution.* 

To promote the progress of science and useful arts au- 
thors and inventors for a limited time have the exclusive 
right to their writings and discoveries. Congress alone can 
pass laws for their protection, which are known as the laws 
of copyright and of patents. 

144. Copyrights. — An author may copyright a book, 
map, engraving, photograph, chart or musical composi- 
tion, and thereby obtain the exclusive right to print, pub- 
lish and sell such a production for twenty-eight years, 
with the privilege of renewing the right for fourteen years 
longer, or forty-two years in all. Copyrights are secured 
through the librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C. 

145. Patents. — Patents are issued for four classes of 
inventions — arts, machines, manufactures and composi- 
tions of matter. The patent gives the inventor the exclu- 
sive right of making and selling his invention for the 
period of seventeen years, at the expiration of which time 
the patent may be renewed by any improvement in the 

* The Smithsonian Institution at Washington, D. C, was organized 
by act of Congress in 1846, in accordance with the will of James Smith- 
son, an Englishman who bequeathed half a million dollars to the United 
States " to be devoted to the increase and diffusion of knowledge among 
men." The institution is controlled by the Federal Government, and 
possesses a spacious building with museums, libraries, lecture-rooms and 
laboratories. It publishes valuable works in various departments of 
science, and distributes scientific collections all over the world. It 
takes the lead in scientific work in the United States. 




82 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

invention. Since 1790 more than three hundred thousand 
patents have been issued by the Patent Office, and the 
number now granted yearly is about twenty thousand. 
Applications for patents are made to the Commissioner of 
Patents, Washington, D. C. 

146. International Copyright. — The authors of Eng- 
land and America, as early as 1819, sought to have Con- 
gress and Parliament pass international copyright laws. 
The writings of an English author were republished in 
America, and those of an American author were repub- 
lished in England, without the author's consent and with- 
out remuneration to him, unless by the courtesy of the 
publisher. In 1837, Henry Clay presented a petition from 
British authors asking for copyright protection. Repeated 
efforts to procure such legislation were in vain until the 
passage of the act of Congress of March 4, 1891, which 
gives to authors, whether native or foreign, the exclusive 
control of their own works, provided that their books 
are printed in the United States from type set in this 
country. 

147. Inferior Courts. — Congress, having the power to 
create courts inferior to the Supreme Court, has constituted 
the United States Appellate Courts, the United States Cir- 
cuit Courts, the United States District Courts, the United 
States Court of Claims, the Court of the District of Colum- 
bia, Territorial Courts and Consular Courts. 

148. Piracies. — Piracy was more common a century 
ago than now, because all civilized countries have united 
to clear the seas of such offenders. Piracy is a crime, and 
its definition and punishment are determined by the laws 
of Congress. The chief piracy of modern times is the 
slave-trade, which still maintains its stealthy and wicked 
course between Africa and slave countries. 

149. War. — Congress alone can declare war against 
any other power and grant letters of marque and reprisal, 
which are commissions granted by Congress authorizing 



WHAT CONGRESS MAY DO. 83 

seizures on the high seas of property belonging to a public 
enemy. As the action partakes somewhat of the nature 
of piracy, letters of this kind are seldom granted by mod- 
ern civilized nations. 

150. The Army and Navy. — Congress has power to 
raise and support armies, to provide and maintain a navy, 
and to make rules for the government and regulation of 
the land and naval forces. No appropriation of money 
for military and naval purposes can be made for a longer 
term than two years. 

Abuses in government generally arise from the unlawful 
use of the military power of the State. Our Constitution 
carefully guards against such danger by placing the crea- 
tion and the support of the army and navy in the hands 
of Congress, and by limiting their support to two years. 
The long experience of England led to this provision in 
our Constitution. In practice the appropriations for the 
army and navy are made annually. 

151. The Militia. — The male citizens of the States, 
between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, are 
subject to service in the State militia unless exempted by 
law. The organized militia constitutes the National Guard, 
which is trained by State officers according to the military 
system approved by Congress. The geographical position 
of the United States and its form of government free the 
country from the burden of a large standing army so com- 
mon in European countries. Sometimes trained soldiers 
are needed to assist the civil authorities in suppressing 
riots. The National Guard is always ready for such ser- 
vice, and constitutes an army of defence quickly called into 
action. The State militia may be called into the service 
of the United States, in which case it is subject to the 
orders of the President and is cared for by Congress like 
the regular army. 

152. The District of Columbia. — Congress has exclu- 
sive control of the District of Columbia ; the civil govern- 



84 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

ment of the District is vested by act of Congress of 1878 
in three commissioners, two of whom are appointed by the 
President, with the consent of the Senate, for three years, 
and the third is an officer of the army belonging to the 
engineer corps, detailed by the President for this service. 
The expenses of the District government are equally 
divided between Congress and the people of the District, 
Inhabitants of the District of Columbia cannot vote. 

153. New States and Territories. — Congress organizes 
the Public Domain into Territories, makes laws for their 
government and admits new States into the Union at its 
discretion. For many years the admission of States was 
in pairs to preserve in Congress the balance of political 
power between the free and the slave States. Since the 
abolition of slavery Congress has generally admitted new 
States as rapidly as the territorial population permitted, 
but under the influence of party political feeling the ad- 
mission of a new State has sometimes been unduly delayed. 

154. The Supreme Power of Congress. — Congress is 
empowered by the Constitution to make all laws necessary 
for carrying into execution the powers vested by the Con- 
stitution in the Government of the United States or in any 
department or officer of the Government. 

The clause of the Constitution granting this supreme 
power has long been called " the sweeping clause," and is 
often quoted as authorizing Congress " to do anything and 
everything." The clause means that Congress may pass 
any " necessary law " " for the complete and efficient exe- 
cution " of its powers. Louisiana was bought in 1803, the 
Mesilla Valley was purchased in 1853, and Alaska in 1867, 
although the Constitution contains not a word empowering 
Congress to buy territory. 

But in order that Congress may not abuse its powers 
the Constitution plainly sets forth certain limitations to 
its authority which distinctly declare what Congress may 
not do. 



CHAPTER IX. 

POWERS DENIED BY THE PEOPLE TO CONGRESS 
AND TO THE STATES. 

155. Rights of the People. — The Constitution provides 
that the enumeration of certain rights granted to Congress 
shall not be construed to deny or disparage other rights 
retained by the people. This means that the people keep 
to themselves all rights and powers that they have not 
granted to Congress. State legislatures are limited in the 
same manner. The long struggle of five centuries and 
more in England and in this country for the realization 
©f rights has taught men to prize them so highly as not 
to endanger them by allowing even the representatives 
elected by the people to exercise certain of them. The 
Constitution declares that these are " retained by the 
people." 

156. Personal Liberty. — The privilege of the writ of 
habeas corpus cannot be suspended unless when, in case of 
rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. 
Congress cannot interfere with the personal liberty of a 
citizen except as a punishment for crime. Several State 
constitutions declare that the writ of habeas corpus shall 
never be suspended by the State.* Illegal imprisonment 
was one of the chief complaints against King John. 

157. Bills of Attainder — Ex Post Facto Laws.— Con- 
gress cannot pass any bill of attainder or ex post facto law. 
A bill of attainder in English legislation was the extinc- 
tion of the civil rights of a person who had been executed 

* See T 61, p. 32. 

85 



86 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

for treason or felony, so that his legal heirs could not in- 
herit his estate, but it was forfeited to the Crown. 

The Supreme Court of the United States has said that 
" an ex post facto law is one that creates or aggravates crime, 
or increases the punishment, or changes the rules of evi- 
dence for the purpose of conviction." If a person commits 
a crime, he may be punished according to the law existing 
at the time of its commission. The penalty for counter- 
feiting the coin of the United States is a fine not exceed- 
ing five thousand dollars and imprisonment for a term 
not exceeding ten years. If a man is convicted under 
this law, Congress cannot pass a law changing his punish- 
ment, for that would be fixing the penalty after the deed 
is done, or an ex post facto law. A person has the right to 
know what consequences follow his acts before he com- 
mits them. 

158. Proportional Taxation. — The census taken every 
tenth year enumerates the people. If Congress lays a 
direct tax upon the people, the tax must be proportional 
to population. A direct tax is a tax on land or a poll 
tax. A tax of one dollar a head on every citizen of the 
United States would be a direct proportional tax, but a 
land-tax of one dollar an acre on every acre of land in 
the United States, while it would be a direct tax, would 
not be a proportional tax, because land has not the same 
value all over the country. A tax of one dollar an acre 
in South Carolina or Texas would be a higher tax than a 
tax of one dollar an acre in New York or Pennsylvania, 
where land is of greater value per acre than in the two 
Southern States mentioned. Congress has frequently 
levied direct taxes. 

159. Internal Trade Free. — Congress cannot levy a 
duty or excise upon the internal trade and commerce of 
the country. To a citizen of the United States all internal 
trade must be free. States cannot collect customs. 

160. Impartial Laws of Commerce. — Congress can 



POWERS DENIED BY THE PEOPLE. 87 

pass no law that gives a preference to the ports of one 
State over those of another. Vessels to or from one State 
cannot be obliged to enter, clear or pay duties in another 
State. 

161. Paying* Out the People's Money. — The annual 
expenditure of money by Congress for the ordinary ex- 
penses of the United States Government is more than two 
hundred and forty million dollars. Before any of this 
money can be paid out Congress must pass an act ex- 
pressly authorizing the expenditure. Extreme care is 
necessary in public financiering lest public money be 
lost or wasted. Congress has no right to squander the 
people's money. An appropriation bill is made with great 
attention to detail, for the treasurer of the United States 
pays out money exactly as provided in the appropriations 
made by Congress. 

162. Titles of Nobility— Gifts. — Republican simplic- 
ity and equality are characteristic of our entire Govern- 
ment. Both Congress and the States are forbidden to grant 
any title of nobility either to a citizen of the United States 
or to a citizen of any other country. We believe that all 
men are created free and equal, and the citizen of the 
United States enjoys the highest nobility in possessing 
this freedom and equality. Nor can any person holding 
an office of trust or profit under the United States accept 
any gift or title or emolument of any kind whatever from 
any king, prince or foreign state without the consent of 
Congress. An Eastern prince once presented to President 
Van Buren some beautiful jewels, but he could not receive 
them, and they still lie in the treasury of the United States. 

163. Freedom of the People. — Congress is forbidden 
to make any law — 

1. Respecting the establishment of religion or prohibit- 
ing its free exercise ; 

2. Abridging the freedom of speech ; 

3. Abridging the freedom of the press ; 



88 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

4. Abridging the right of the people peacefully to as- 
semble ; 

5. Abridging the right of petition. 

Every person in this country may worship God accord- 
ing to the dictates of his own conscience, being responsible 
for the consequences of his actions and beliefs if they 
affect the peace of society. Any person may freely speak, 
write and publish his sentiments on any subject, being 
responsible for the abuse of such right ; the abuse is called 
a libel. 

In 1875 the United States Supreme Court decided that 
44 the right of the people peaceably to assemble for the pur- 
pose of petitioning Congress, or for anything else connected 
with the powers and duties of the national Government, is 
an attribute of national citizenship, and as such is under 
the protection of, and guaranteed by, the United States." 
Old English law forbade " tumultuous petitioning," but 
Congress is forbidden to pass any law which will hinder 
the people from freely assembling. Arbitrary govern- 
ments, like the absolute Russian monarchy, forbid the 
people to hold political meetings. 

164. Right to Bear Arms. — The carrying of concealed 
weapons is forbidden by law, but Congress cannot pass 
laws forbidding the people to keep and bear arms. This 
restriction refers primarily to the right of the people to 
constitute a militia for the defence of their rights. Our 
regular army is very small ; the defence of our rights is 
secured by the retained military right of the people. . Con- 
gress can declare war and call out the militia for the pub- 
lic defence, but it cannot take the right to self-protection 
away from the people. 

165. Householders' Rights. — Congress prescribes the 
rules and regulations of the army or empowers military 
officers to do so ; but " the citizen's house is his castle," 
and in time of peace soldiers cannot be quartered in any 
house without the owner's consent, nor in any time of war 



POWERS DENIED BY THE PEOPLE. 89 

save in the manner prescribed by law. Congress must 
respect the home-rights of every citizen. 

166. Personal Security. — The personal security of 
citizens is protected by the laws of Congress. No law can 
be passed by any legislative body in this country impair- 
ing that security by permitting unreasonable searches and 
seizures or arrests without warrant. This common-law 
right of the citizen is very ancient, and has grown and 
strengthened with the growth and strength of political 
rights in this country and in England. Every citizen has 
the right to demand the authority by which any official 
act is done. 

167. Private Property. — Private property cannot be 
taken for public uses without just compensation. Some- 
times private property is needed for the public welfare ; in 
such a case, if the owner is unwilling to sell his property, 
the Government, either local or national, appoints com- 
missioners or viewers, whose duty it is to estimate the 
"just compensation" for the property, and the owner is 
compelled to take the amount found by the commissioners. 
This right of Government is known as the " right of emi- 
nent domain," and may be exercised by the United States, 
by the State, by the county and by the city, or by corpo- 
rations to which the right has been granted by the State.* 

168. Trial by Jury. — Congress can pass no law impair- 
ing the right of the citizen to an impartial jury trial which 
shall be speedy and public. All the rights confirmed 
to the people by the common law, such as the right of 
a person to be informed of the accusations against him, 
the right to self-defence or by counsel, and the right to sum- 
mon witnesses, can be protected, but not impaired, by Con- 
gress or by any other legislative body. In suits at common 
law where the value in controversy exceeds twenty dollars 
the right of trial by jury is preserved, but cases in which 

* See tf 33, p. 20. 



90 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

the value in dispute is not over one hundred dollars are 
usually tried before a justice of the peace without a jury. 

169. Fines and Punishments. — Neither Congress nor 
the State can pass any law requiring excessive bail, im- 
posing excessive fines or inflicting cruel and unusual pun- 
ishments. This right of the people to humane laws is of 
highest importance. The object of law is to reform the 
criminal as well as to punish him. Inhuman laws always 
fail to reform criminals or to deter them from the com- 
mission of crime. It is a principle of criminal law that 
the certainty rather than the degree of the punishment is 
the best preventive of crime. 

170. The Franchise. — Slavery was abolished in the 
United States by the Thirteenth Amendment, declared in 
force December 18, 1865. By the Fifteenth Amendment 
the right of the citizen to vote cannot be denied or 
abridged by the United States or any State on account 
of race, color or previous condition of servitude. This 
amendment was declared in force March 30, 1870. The 
right to vote comes from the State, not from the United 
States. 

171. Republican Form of State Government.— Con- 
gress guarantees to each State a republican form of gov- 
ernment and protection against invasion. If the legisla- 
ture of the State, or the governor when the legislature 
cannot be convened, applies to the Government of the 
United States for protection against domestic violence, as 
in the case of a riot, such as occurred in Pittsburgh, Penn- 
sylvania, in 1877, the United States Government must 
comply with the request. 

172. Obligation of Contracts. — No State can pass any 
law impairing the obligation of contracts. The law of the 
obligation of contracts covers nearly all the civil cases 
before the American courts, and the principle is of the 
widest application in our institutions. The protection of 
all our rights, industrial, political, social and moral, is im- 



POWERS DENIED BY THE PEOPLE. 91 

plied in the obligation of contracts. A contract is an 
agreement between two or more parties, qualified to con- 
tract, to do or not to do a particular thing. If two or 
more persons of the age of twenty-one or more, of sound 
mind, and without restraint or compulsion, actually con- 
tract to do or not to do a certain thing, they are bound by 
the contract, and the laws of the United States will compel 
them to perform their legal contracts or suffer the conse- 
quences of non-performance. 

173. Powers Denied the States. — No State can enter 
into any treaty, alliance or confederation ; grant letters of 
marque or reprisal; coin money; issue bills of credit;* 
make anything but gold or silver coin a tender in pay- 
ment of debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, 
or grant any title of nobility. 

The limitations on the States illustrate the supremacy 
of the United States over the States. 

174. State Powers if Congress Consent. — No State, 
without the consent of Congress, can lay any imposts or 
duties on imports or exports, except what may be abso- 
lutely necessary for executing its inspection laws ; and the 
net produce of all duties and imposts laid by any State on 
imports or exports shall be for the use of the treasury of 
the United States; and all such laws are subject to the 
revision and control of Congress. 

No State, without the consent of Congress, can lay any 
duty on tonnage, keep troops or ships of w r ar in time of 
peace, enter into any agreement or compact w T ith another 
State or with any foreign power, or engage in war unless 
actually invaded or in such imminent danger as will not 
admit of delay. 

These restrictions on the States mean that Congress 

* By " bills of credit " is meant paper money, or promises to pay, 
issued by a State in such a way as to be used as a substitute for money. 
The phrase is not intended to prevent a State from borrowing money 
and giving its bonds for the obligation. 



92 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

alone can regulate the commercial interests of the people 
of the United States, maintain an army and navy, make 
treaties or alliances with foreign States or declare war. 
There cannot be two sovereign powers exercising these 
rights in the United States. 

175. The Relation of the Federal Government to the 
State Governments. — " The Government proceeds directly 
from the people. When thus adopted by them the Con- 
stitution was of complete obligation and bound the State 
sovereignties. The Government of the Union is emphati- 
cally and truly a government of the people. The Govern- 
ment of the Union, though limited in its powers, is 
supreme within the sphere of its action. Its laws, when 
made in pursuance of the Constitution, form the supreme 
law of the land. . . . The Government of the Union and 
those of the States are each sovereign with respect to the 
objects committed to it, and neither sovereign with respect 
to the objects committed to the other."* 

* Chief- Justice Marshall. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

176. The President of the United States represents 
the unity, the power and the purpose of the nation. He 
is the executive officer of the Federal Government. His 
office is the highest in the power of the people to bestow. 

177. Qualifications. — No person except a natural-born 
citizen is eligible to the Presidency. He must be thirty- 
five years of age and a resident within the United States 
fourteen years. He is elected to serve for four years. 

A person of foreign birth might be subject to foreign in- 
fluences. Tenure of office for life or for a very long term 
would tend to a monarchy. 

178. His Election. — The President is chosen by the 
Electoral College, which is composed of Presidential elec- 
tors elected in the several States. Each State has as many 
Presidential electors as it has Senators and Representatives 
in Congress, and each elector has one vote. No Senator or 
Representative or person holding an office of trust or profit 
under the United States can serve as a Presidential elector. 
The purpose of this restriction is to provide an Electoral 
College free from Federal influence. Each political party 
in the State nominates its own Presidential electors, who 
are morally bound, if elected, to vote for the Presidential 
candidate of the party. The people elect the Presidential 
electors on the Tuesday next after the first Monday of 
November in the year of the Presidential election. The 
first Presidential election was in 1789. Soon after election 
day it is known what electoral ticket, and consequently 
what Presidential candidate, has been elected. 

93 



94 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

179. The Electoral College. — But the choice of a 
President is not made until three more steps have been 
taken. On the second Monday in January the Presiden- 
tial electors meet in their respective States, usually at the 
capital of the State, and vote by ballot for President and 
Vice-President, one of whom at least cannot be an inhab- 
itant of the same State with themselves. When the vote 
has been counted three lists are made of all the persons 
voted for as President and Vice-President, and the number 
of votes which each received. These three lists are cer- 
tified to and signed by all the electors and sealed. One 
list is deposited with the United States district court judge 
of the district in which the electors meet. The other two 
lists are sent to the president of the Senate at Washington, 
one by mail and one by special messenger.* The sealed 
vote of the Electoral College of each State is called " the 
return." As soon as the Electoral College has sent in the 
return its duty is done and it ceases to exist. The college 
is simply the registering-machine of the popular vote. 

180. Counting' the Votes. — On the second Wednesday 
in February the sealed votes received by the president of 
the Senate are opened by him in the presence of the two 
houses of Congress, and the votes are counted. The per- 
son who has a majority of all the votes cast for President 
is declared to be duly elected President of the United 
States, and the person who has a majority of all the votes 
cast for Vice-President is declared to be duly elected Vice- 
President of the United States. 

181. Election by the House. — If no person has a 
majority of the votes for President, then from the three 
highest on the list of those voted for as President the 
House of Representatives proceeds immediately, by bal- 

* If the two lists from the Electoral College of each State fail to 
reach the president of the Senate by the fourth Monday in January 
following the election, he may send for the list deposited with the dis- 
trict court judge. 



THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 95 

lot, to choose a President. In an election by the House 
the voting is by States, a majority of the Representatives 
from each State constituting the one vote of the State. A 
quorum for this purpose consists of a member or members 
from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the 
States is necessary to a choice. If the House of Repre- 
sentatives fail to choose a President, whenever the right 
of choice devolves upon it, before the fourth day of 
March next following, then the Vice-President acts as 
President, as in the case of the death or other constitu- 
tional disability of the President. Thomas Jefferson (1801) 
and John Quincy Adams (1825) were elected by the House 
of Representatives. 

182. The Vice-President. — As the Vice-President may 
become President, his qualifications are the same as those 
of the President. Should the Electoral College fail to 
elect a Vice-President, the choice of the Vice-President de- 
volves upon the Senate, in which case the Senate must 
have a quorum of two-thirds of the w T hole number of Sen- 
ators, and a majority of the whole number is necessar}^ to 
a choice.* 

183. A Minority President. — The Presidential electors 
from any one State are not obliged to vote as a unit ; each 
elector represents the party that chooses him. The State 
of New York has thirty-six electors. They may represent 
several parties : there may be electors representing the 
Republican party, the Democratic party, the Prohibition 

* As the President represents the nation, and is chosen indirectly by 
the people, it is a wise provision of the Constitution that in case the 
Electoral College fail to choose a President the choice of a President 
should be made by that branch of the national legislature which more 
closely represents the people — namely, the House of Eepresentatives. 
The choice of the Vice-President is wisely left, in case the Electoral 
College fail to choose that officer, to the Senate of the United States, 
over which body the Vice-President is to preside. As the Vice-Pres- 
ident succeeds to the Presidency only by accident, it is just that the 
Senate should be permitted to select its own presiding officer. 



96 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

party, the Labor party or any other party. Other States 
may be similarly divided. The Electoral College thus 
may have Democratic electors, Republican electors, Labor- 
party electors and Prohibition electors. Electors of the 
same party in the different States vote for the same can- 
didates. The greater the number of candidates, the 
greater the risk that the Electoral College will fail to 
choose a President.* 

The majority in the Electoral College has failed so often 
to represent the majority of the popular vote that many 
attempts have been made to amend the Constitution and 
change the method of electing the President ; but as yet 
no device has been found better than the cumbersome 
Electoral College. The idea of such a college grew out of 
the distrust of the people at the time of the making of the 
Constitution. It was then thought that electors chosen by 
the people would be less likely to err in selecting a fit per- 
son for President. But the practice of political parties 
has reduced the Electoral College to a mere registering- 
machine, and every Presidential elector votes for the can- 
didate nominated by the national convention of his party. 

184. The Presidential Succession. — In case of the 
removal of the President from office, or of his death, res- 



* In 1861, the Electoral College stood as follows : for— 
Lincoln, 180, representing 17 States and 1,866,352 popular votes. 

Breckinridge, 72, " 11 " 845,763 

Douglas, 12, " 2 " 1,375,157 

Bell, 39, " 3 " 589,581 

Thus, although Abraham Lincoln received 180 electoral votes, he did 
not receive a majority of the popular vote : he received more electoral 
votes than his three opponents together ; and they together received 
more popular votes than he. A president who fails to receive the 
majority of the popular votes is called a minority President. 

The minority Presidents have been J. Q. Adams, 1825 ; James K. 
Polk, 1845; Zachary Taylor, 1849 ; James Buchanan, 1857; Abraham 
Lincoln, 1861; R. B. Hayes, 1877; James A. Garfield, 1881 ; Grover 
Cleveland, 1885 ; Benjamin Harrison, 1889, 



THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 97 

ignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties 
of his office, the office devolves upon the Vice-President. 
Four times in our history the Vice-President has succeeded 
to the Presidency : 

John Tyler upon the death of President Harrison in 
1841 ; Millard Fillmore upon the death of President Tay- 
lor in 1850 ; Andrew Johnson upon the assassination of 
President Lincoln in 1865; Chester A. Arthur upon the 
assassination of President Garfield in 1881. 

At the time of President Garfield's death and the suc- 
cession of Vice-President Arthur to the Presidency, Con- 
gress was not in session. No president of the Senate pro 
tempore had been chosen before the adjournment of Con- 
gress, and consequently, had President Arthur died or 
become incapable of exercising the powers and duties of 
his office, there would have been no one to succeed him 
and the country would have been without a President. 
Congress soon assembled, a president of the Senate was 
chosen, and, later, a law was passed prescribing the succes- 
sion to the Presidency should an occasion ever arise de- 
manding it. In case of the death of both President and 
Vice-President, or of the removal, resignation or inability 
of both of them, the Secretary of State acts as President ; 
in case of the removal, death, or resignation or inability 
of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury 
acts as President, and, in their order, the office passes to 
the Secretary of War, the Attorney-General, the Postmas- 
ter-General, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the 
Interior, and the Secretary of Agriculture. This law was 
passed in January, 1886, and will have the effect, if ever 
practically carried out, of continuing in power the political 
party that chose the last President duly elected, by placing 
the executive powers of the Government in the hands of 
the men whom the President had chosen to assist him in 
the administration of affairs. 

185. Inauguration Day.— On the 4th of March of each 

7 



98 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

fourth year the President and Vice-President elect are for- 
mally invested with their respective offices. The essential 
part of the inauguration is the oath of office, which is 
administered to the President elect by the chief-justice of 
the United States before a vast concourse of citizens. The 
oath is as follows : " I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that 
I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United 
States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect 
and defend the Constitution of the United States." The 
Vice-President takes the oath a few moments before in 
the presence of the Senate of the United States. Usually 
there is a display of military and other organizations from 
various parts of the country. The new President pro- 
nounces his inaugural address from the eastern steps of 
the Capitol. This address outlines the new President's 
policy or his ideas of the administration of the Govern- 
ment. 

186. The White House. — After the inauguration the 
President is driven to his official residence, the executive 
mansion, popularly known as the White House. Here he 
receives deputations of citizens, foreign ambassadors, mem- 
bers of Congress and of other departments of the Govern- 
ment. 

187. The President's Salary.— Until 1873 the annual 
salary of the President was $25,000, but it was thought at 
that time that this amount was not sufficient to meet the de- 
mands made upon the President during his official life. It 
was increased to $50,000, but this sum is small when com- 
pared with the amount paid to the rulers of other civilized 
lands. This salary cannot be increased nor diminished 
during the period for which the President is elected, and 
he cannot receive, while President, any emolument from 
the United States or from a State. A custom has long 
prevailed that the President cannot receive any gift from 
any civil body, such as a city council or a legislature, or a 
foreign state. The Vice-President receives $8000 annually, 



THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 99 

and, as in the case of the President, he draws his salary 
in monthly instalments from the United States treasury. 

188. The President Accessible. — Although the Pres- 
ident is the ruler of a mighty nation and is burdened with 
responsibility and official duties, he is easily reached by 
the humblest citizen. Unlike the rulers of foreign lands, 
who are hedged about by ranks of officials both civil and 
military, our chief magistrate frequently meets the i^eople 
at public or at private receptions. The death of two of 
our Presidents by assassination has led many to believe 
that the President of the United States should be protected 
by a guard. The President is constantly sought by per- 
sons soliciting appointment to office. In order to relieve 
the President from the crowd of officeseekers, and also to 
secure competent public servants in the lower grades of 
administrative offices, the greater number of Government 
employes in clerical positions are appointed by the heads 
of the executive departments, with the approval of the 
President. 

189. Duties of the President. — All the duties of the 
President are summed in the language of the Constitu- 
tion : u He shall take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed." 

190. Powers of the President. — The President is com- 
mander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, 
and of the militia of the several States when it is called 
into the national service. He is not obliged to take com- 
mand of the national forces in person, but may place them 
under command of such officers as he may choose. 

He has power to grant reprieves and pardons, as well 
before trial and conviction as afterward, for offences against 
the United States, except in cases of impeachment. The 
exception of impeachment cases is taken from the custom 
in England, where the king's pardon cannot be pleaded in 
case of impeachment before the House of Commons. 

He has power, by and with the consent of the Senate, 



100 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

to make treaties with foreign states, provided two-thirds 
of the Senators present concur. 

He nominates, and by and with the consent of the Sen- 
ate he appoints, ambassadors, other public ministers, con- 
suls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers 
of the United States whose appointment is not otherwise 
provided for by law. 

He has power to fill all vacancies in Government offices 
that may happen during the recess of the Senate by grant- 
ing commissions which shall expire at the end of the next 
session. In 1831, President Jackson during a recess of the 
Senate appointed Martin Van Buren minister to England, 
but the Senate refused to confirm the appointment, and 
Mr. Van Buren, who had already gone to the court of St. 
James, was compelled to return. 

He has power on extraordinary occasions to convene 
both houses of Congress or either of them, and, in case of 
disagreement between them with respect to the time of 
adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he 
thinks proper, but not for a longer time than the day fixed 
for the assembling of the next session of Congress. 

He appoints the members of his own Cabinet, who com- 
pose the heads of the executive departments, and he may 
require of them at any time an opinion in writing upon 
any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. 

He receives ambassadors from foreign powers and other 
public ministers, and commissions all the officers of the 
United States. 

191. Removal from Office. — The President, the Vice- 
President and all civil officers of the United States are 
subject to removal from office on impeachment for and 
conviction of treason, bribery or other high crimes and 
misdemeanors. 

192. The President's Message. — In his annual mes- 
sage, when Congress assembles, the President gives to that 
body "information of the state of the Union." In this 



THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 101 

message he reviews the history of the year, comments 
upon events, makes suggestions concerning legislation, 
and expresses his opinions on such subjects as he thinks 
proper. At any time he may send to Congress a special 
message directing attention to matters requiring immedi- 
ate consideration. 

193. The President as Law-maker. — The President 
is an essential part of the law-making power under the 
Constitution, and signs or vetoes all bills and resolutions 
passed by Congress, except a resolution to adjourn. 

194. The President as Politician.— He is elected by 
a political party for the purpose of carrying out party 
principles of government. His term of office is known 
politically as an administration. He is the head or leader 
of his party, and usually makes all official appointments 
out of his own party. The number of appointments he 
can make is about one hundred and fifteen thousand; 
sometimes these men use their personal and official in- 
fluence to re-elect the President who appointed them to 
office, but the spirit of our institutions is against such 
action. 

195. Rules of the Executive Mansion. — The Cabinet 
meets on Tuesdays and Fridays. Mondays are reserved 
by the President for the transaction of public business 
requiring his uninterrupted attention. Senators and Rep- 
resentatives in Congress have access to the President on 
all days, except when he holds a Cabinet meeting. Other 
persons are received by him at designated hours, except 
on Mondays and Cabinet days. Those having no busi- 
ness, but who desire simply to pay respect to the Presi- 
dent, are received by him in the East Room at a designated 
hour on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. 

196. The President as the Head of the Nation. — 
The President is the only Federal officer who is directly 
responsible to the nation for the administration of the 
Government. He is President of the whole country, and 



102 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

should be above the biassed prejudices of the mere politi- 
cal partisan. He is the nation's man, and not a party man. 
If he fails to rise to the lofty plane of national duty, he 
sinks into the obscurity of the mere candidate for office 
and the distributer of the spoils of office. The burden of 
his responsibility is too heavy to be borne long, and Wash- 
ington set the example of retiring from the Presidency at 
the close of a second term. It has often been said that 
responsibility makes men serious; the responsibilities 
incident to the office of President of the United States 
have called into exercise noble qualities from all our Pres- 
idents. From the excitement of the campaign to the 
cares of the White House is a transformation likely to 
change the leader of a party into the head of the nation.* 

* For Table of Presidents of the United States, see p. 212. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 

197. The Executive Departments. — The executive 
business of the Federal Government is committed to eight 
departments, each of which has for its chief officer a Cab- 
inet minister appointed by the President by and with the 
consent of the Senate. The departments, in the order of 
their creation by act of Congress, are — 

The Department of State, July 27, 1789 ; 

The Department of War, August 7, 1789 ; 

The Treasury Department, September 2, 1789 ; 

The Post-Office Department, May 8, 1794; 

The Department of the Navy, outlined by the act of 
April 30, 1789, but not established until May 21, 1798; 

The Department of the Interior, March 3, 1849; 

The Department of Justice, originally provided for Sep- 
tember 24, 1789, in charge of the Attorney-General, 
and created under the present organization June 22, 
1870; 

The Department of Agriculture, February 12, 1889. 
Each member of the Cabinet is in political accord with 
the President and receives an annual salary of $8000. He 
holds his appointment at the will of the President, and is 
directly responsible to him for the management of the 
department of which he is the principal officer. The 
President is responsible to the people of the United States 
for the conduct of business in all the departments.* 

* The Cabinet meets at the executive mansion at the direction of the 
President, who presides over its consultations and directs them. Its 
proceedings are not recorded, and it has no legal authority as a body. 

103 



104 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

198. The Department of State. — Of the executive 
departments created by Congress, the Department of State, 
which outranks the others, was the first in operation. It 
is presided over by the Secretary of State. He is the sin- 
gle officer in our Federal Government who is empowered 
to communicate with other Governments in the name of 
the President of the United States. He corresponds with 
the official representatives of the United States in foreign 
countries and issues instructions for their guidance. He 
has charge of treaties and negotiates new ones ; he keeps 
the archives of the United States and publishes its laws, 
or causes them to be published, together with treaties, 
Presidential messages, proclamations, resolutions, etc. He 
keeps the great seal of the United States and affixes it to 
official papers. He issues and records all passports, and 
he reports to Congress at stated times the relations be- 
tween foreign countries and the United States. He has 
three assistants, known as the First, Second, and Third 
Assistant Secretary of State.* 

199. The Diplomatic and Consular Service. — The 
foreign relations of the United States and of its people are 
entrusted to two sets of officials — one, the American min- 
isters abroad, who represent our Government in a political 
capacity ; the other, the American consuls abroad, who 
represent commercial interests, and chiefly the interests of 



As its action is merely advisory, the President is not bound by the 
j udgment of the Cabinet, and its members as heads of executive depart- 
ments may disregard the advice of the Cabinet and assume the responsi- 
bility of individual action. 

* The list of Secretaries of State begins with Thomas Jefferson, ap- 
pointed by President Washington September 26, 1789, and contains 
some of the most distinguished names in our civil history. Jefferson, 
Madison, Monroe, J. Q. Adams, Van Buren and Buchanan served each 
as Secretary of State before election to the Presidency, and John Mar- 
shall, the great chief-justice, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Cal- 
houn, Edward Everett, Jeremiah S. Black and William H. Seward 
were once at the head of this department. 



TEE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 105 

Americans as individuals. The duties of the diplomatic 
and of the consular services are never confused. The 
American minister cannot represent or engage in com- 
mercial interests ; the consul cannot represent or engage 
in political affairs. Our diplomatic agents are of four 
grades : 

1. Ambassadors; 

2. Envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary ; 

3. Ministers resident. These three grades of the diplo- 
matic service are accredited by the President to the head 
of Government of the countries to which ihey are sent. 

4. Charges d? affaires commissioned by the President, but 
accredited by the Secretary of State to the minister of 
foreign affairs of the Government to which they are sent. 
In some cases a charge ^affaires is entrusted with the rep- 
resentation until the duly-accredited minister has assumed 
his official duties. 

The duty of diplomatic agents is to carry out the instruc- 
tions which come to them from the President through the 
Secretary of State. They aid in carrying out the Presi- 
dent's foreign policy by negotiating such treaties and in- 
ternational agreements, and securing such - international 
relations, as in the judgment of the President seem con- 
ducive to the welfare of the United States. By the law 
of nations foreign ministers enjoy many rights and privi- 
leges peculiar to the dignity of their office. They are 
assisted by secretaries of legation and interpreters. 

Our commercial relations with the people in foreign 
lands are entrusted to the American consuls, each of whom 
resides in the principal city of a consular district into 
which foreign countries are divided. The officers of the 
consular service are more numerous than those of the 
diplomatic service. The duties of consuls are various. 
The Department of State cannot attend to the private 
business of American citizens, but the individual citizen 
may employ the American consul to transact any private 



108 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

business he may have abroad. The consul may adminis- 
ter oaths, take testimony, administer on the estates of 
Americans dying abroad and send home the proceeds of 
their estates to be distributed to the legal heirs. Our con- 
suls also secure valuable information relating to com- 
merce, manufactures and agriculture, which they convey 
to our Government, by which it is given to the American 
people. In Japan, Turkey and China any American cit- 
izen charged with crime is tried by the American consul. 
To the consuls are entrusted the interests of American 
seamen and American shipping. The consul keeps a reg- 
ister of all American ships entering his port, the tonnage 
of each ship, the nature and the value of each cargo, the 
number and the condition of the seamen. To the consul 
the seaman may apply for the protection of his legal rights, 
and the destitute mariner is entitled to receive relief from 
the consul at the expense of the Government of the United 
States. But only seamen are entitled to such aid : they 
may be sent home or cared for in a foreign land until 
able to help themselves. The chief duty of a consul is to 
see that the commercial laws of the United States are en- 
forced. These laws or agreements are negotiated by the 
diplomatic agents of the United States. 

200. The Treasury Department.— The Treasury De- 
partment was organized by Alexander Hamilton, and has 
grown into a department difficult to understand on account 
of its complex interests. The Secretary of the Treasury 
must be a man who is not directly interested in trade or 
commerce. President Grant nominated the merchant 
prince A. T. Stewart for this Cabinet position, but the 
Senate refused to confirm him and refused to change the 
law that disqualified him from holding the office. The 
secretary is required to suggest plans for creating revenue 
and maintaining the credit of the United States ; to de- 
termine the manner in which the financial business of the 
Government shall be conducted; to acquaint Congress, 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 101 

when called upon, with any information obtainable in his 
department ; to superintend the collection of the revenue ; 
and to give warrants or orders for all moneys paid from 
the Treasury in accordance with the appropriations made 
by Congress. The chief business of the Treasury Depart- 
ment since 1861 has been the management of the national 
debt. 

England has a national debt about five times as great 
as ours, and employs the Bank of England to manage it ; 
but in our own country the Secretary of the Treasury has 
this important responsibility. He has the superintendence 
of the coinage of money, of the national banks, of the 
customs and the custom-houses, of the lighthouse system, 
of the coast survey, of the inspection of steam vessels, 
of marine hospitals and of the life-saving service.* He is 
aided by two assistant secretaries and numerous clerks. 

The millions of money belonging to the people of the 
United States are entrusted to the treasurer of the United 
States, and are kept in strong vaults made for the pur- 
posed 

* The Life- Saving Service is composed of a general superintend- 
ent, assistant general superintendent, inspectors, district superintendents, 
a board on life-saving appliances and the keepers and crews of stations. 
The service is designed to assist vessels and seamen in danger of being 
wrecked. There are 244 stations in commission — 182 on the Atlantic 
coast, 12 on the Pacific, 49 on the lakes, and 1 at the Falls of the Ohio 
River, Louisville, Ky. Since the organization of the service, in 1871, 
to June 30, 1893, disasters have occurred to 7031 vessels, within the 
scope of its operations, having on board 56,818 persons, of which 
number 56,162 were saved, and only 656 lost; and of more than 
$112,000,000 of shipping property, including cargoes, involved, nearly 
eighty per cent, was saved. This is one of the most useful branches of 
work undertaken by the Government, and is worthy of more aid and 
encouragement from Congress than it has hitherto received. 

t The business of the Treasury Department is audited by six audi- 
tors. The first auditor has charge of all accounts in the civil service, 
the public debt, the expenses of Federal courts, and the custom-houses. 
The second auditor examines the army accounts (with some exceptions) 



108 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

201. The War Department.— The Secretary of War, 
under the direction of the President, has charge of the 

and settles all accounts with the Indians. The third auditor settles all 
accounts of the engineer corps, pensions, war claims, etc. The fourth 
auditor examines all accounts of the navy. The fifth auditor is in 
charge of the accounts with the internal revenue, State Department, 
diplomatic service, and the census. The sixth auditor examines the 
accounts of the postal service. 

The auditors' accounts are re-examined by the comptroller of the 
Treasury, and the commissioner of customs revises all accounts of the 
revenue and of the marine service. 

The register of the Treasury has control of the account-books of the 
United States. These books show the exact financial condition of the 
Government at any time. His name may be seen upon bonds and 
United States notes. 

The comptroller of the Treasury is in charge of the national banking 
system. The office was created in 1863. 

The director of the mint has charge of all mints and assays, and re- 
ports to Congress from time to time concerning the yield of the precious 
metals, etc. 

The commissioner of internal revenue supervises the collection of all 
duties and taxes levied by Congress. The States and Territories are 
divided into eighty-two internal revenue districts. 

The solicitor of the Treasury has charge of all prosecutions by the 
Government for the infringement of revenue laws, for counterfeiting 
and other crimes committed against the financial interests of the 
country. 

The chief of the bureau of statistics reports yearly on the trade and 
commerce of the country, and, when directed by Congress, examines 
and reports on the industrial problems in which the nation is interested. 

The superintendent of the coast and geodetic survey has charge of the 
survey of the coasts and rivers of the United States, and publishes 
charts, tide-tables and sailing directions. 

The remaining officers are the supervising surgeon-general, the super- 
vising architect of the department, the supervising inspector of steam- 
vessels, and the chief of the bureau of engraving and printing. The 
latter officer has charge of the making of all bonds, Treasury notes, 
national bank-notes, revenue stamps, etc. By means of this division 
of labor the vast interests of the Treasury Department are properly 
cared for, and if a single error, however trifling, is made by a clerk, it 



THE EXECUTIVE. DEPARTMENTS. 109 

military affairs of the country, the keeping of the army 
records, and the expenditure of all money appropriated by 
Congress for the improvement of navigation and the sur- 
vey of harbors. The duties of the department are divided 
among ten bureaus : 

The adjutant-general issues the President's orders, con- 
ducts the correspondence of the army, issues commissions 
and keeps the exact record of the army. 

The remaining bureaus are those of the inspector-gen- 
eral, the quartermaster-general, the paymaster-general, the 
commissary-general, the surgeon-general, the chief signal 
officer, the chief of engineers, the chief of ordnance and 
the judge advocate-general. The latter officer reviews the 
findings of courts-martial and is the legal adviser of the 
Secretary of War.* 

202. The Navy Department. — The Secretary of the 
Navy executes the orders of the President relative to his 
department. The duties of the department are divided 
among eight bureaus : A bureau of yards and docks, of 
equipment and recruiting, of navigation, of ordnance, of 
construction and repair, of steam-engineering, of provis- 
ions and clothing, and of medicine and surgery. 

This department also issues nautical charts and sailing 
directions for the use of navigators, and publishes nauti- 
cal books of great value which are sold at cost to any one. 
The naval observatory at Washington is under the care 
of this department. The nautical almanac is published 
three years in advance.f 

is soon detected by means of the numerous checks and safeguards con- 
stantly employed. 

Among the eminent men who have held the office of Secretary of the 
Treasury are Hamilton, Gallatin, Taney (afterward chief-justice of the 
United States), Chase (also chief-justice), McCulloch and Sherman. 

* Among the distinguished men who have held the office of Secretary 
of War are Edwin M. Stanton, General Grant and General Sherman. 

t Among the distinguished men who have served as Secretary of the 
Navy are George Bancroft and Gideon Welles. 



110 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

203. The Department of the Interior. — This depart- 
ment was originally called the Home Department, a name 
significant of the nature of the interests committed to it. 
If information is wanted concerning immigration, public 
lands, the Government survey, mines and mining, schools 
and colleges, the census, patents, pensions, trademarks, the 
Indians or the scientific investigations of the Government, 
the Interior Department will supply it. If pestilence and 
disease prevail in any part of the country, the Interior 
Department will advise as to the best method to be pur- 
sued to overcome them. The subordinate officers of the 
Interior Department are — 

The Commissioner of Public Lands. 
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 
The Commissioner of Pensions.* 
The Commissioner of Patents. 
The Commissioner of Education.f 
The Inter-State Commerce Commissioners. J 
The Superintendent of Public Documents. 
The Superintendent of the Census. 

* Pensions. — Liberal pension laws in the United States since the 
Revolution have provided for the comfort of soldiers and sailors who 
have become disabled in actual military service, and in case of death 
for the support of their families. 

t The Bureau of Education, organized in 1867, is attached to 
the Department of the Interior, and is under the direction of the com- 
missioner of education. It collects statistics and facts showing the con- 
dition and progress of education in the several States and Territories, 
and diffuses information respecting the organization and mangement of 
schools, school systems and methods of teaching. Its reports and cir- 
culars of information are of great value to those interested in educa- 
tional affairs. 

X The Inter-State Commerce Commission.— On the 4th of 
February, 1887, Congress passed the " Act to Kegulate Commerce," 
under which the Inter-State Commerce Commission was created. The 
commission consists of five commissioners, appointed by the President, 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. It is the duty of the com- 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. Ill 

A superintendent of the census is appointed for each cen- 
sus, and holds his office only until the completion of the 
census for which he was appointed. 

204. The Post-Office Department. — President Jackson 
first admitted the chief clerk of the Post-Office Department 
to a seat in the Cabinet. The secretary, called the Post- 
master-General, has charge of the postal interests of the 
nation. He awards all postal contracts, directs routes for 
mails, negotiates postal treaties with the consent of the 
President and commissions and appoints all postmasters 
whose salaries, are not more than $1000 a year. Postmas- 
ters who receive more than this amount are appointed by 
the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
The secretary controls the styles of postage-stamps and 
of envelopes made by the Government, and prescribes the 
rules and regulations of the postal business of the country. 
The subordinate officers of the department are — three 
assistant postmasters-general, an assistant attorney-gen- 
eral, a superintendent of the money-order department, a 
superintendent of foreign mails, a chief clerk, a law clerk 
and a topographer. The business of the Post-Office De- 
partment is enormous, extends over the entire country and 
is carried on with regularity and safety. Before 1845 it 
cost from six to twenty-five cents to send a letter contain- 
ing a single sheet ; the act of 1845 made the rates five or 

mission to investigate any matter or question of fact pertaining to the 
business of any common carrier or carriers in the United States, en- 
gaged in the transportation of passengers or property wholly by rail- 
road, or partly by railroad and partly by water, from one State or Ter- 
ritory of the United States to any other State or Territory of the United 
States, or from any place in the United States to an adjacent foreign 
country, or through a foreign country to any other place in the United 
States. The act does not apply to the transportation of persons or 
property " wholly within the State." The object of the act is to pro- 
vide Congress with accurate information by which it may enact laws 
" to regulate commerce," so that unjust discrimination in freights and 
passenger rates among railroads may be prevented. 



112 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

ten cents according to distance. Stamps of these denom- 
inations were first issued in 1847. Four years later post- 
age on home letters was reduced to three cents, and in 
1883 it was reduced to two cents. The Post-Office Depart- 
ment provides facilities for the transmission of money by 
postal notes and orders. It classifies mail matter and 
fixes the rates of postage according to the classification* 

205. The Department of Justice. — Although Congress 
created the office of attorney -general of the United States 
in 1789, the Department of Justice was not created until 
1870. The United States Attorney-General is the chief 
law officer of the Government, and represents the United 
States in all suits at law to which the United States is a 
party. He has the aid of the solicitor-general, two assist- 
ant attorneys-general, an assistant attorney-general for 
the Interior Department, one for the Post-Office Depart- 
ment, a solicitor of the Treasury, a solicitor of the Internal 
Revenue and an examiner of claims. The men who have 
at different times held this office of Attorney-General are 
among the most distinguished lawyers that the country 
has seen.f 

206. The Department of Agriculture.— Until 1889 
the interests now entrusted to the Department of Agricul- 
ture formed a portion of the interests of the Department 
of the Interior. The wealth of the people of the United 
States is chiefly agricultural. The farmer whose crops are 

* The Postal Union. — For the prompt transmission of mail matter 
between different countries, most of the nations have united in forming 
a postal union. It was organized at Berne, Switzerland, in 1874. Letters 
are carried from one country to another connected with the union at 
the uniform rate of five cents for each half ounce in weight, no matter 
what distance apart the countries may be. 

t Among them are Theophilus Parsons, William Pinckney, William 
Wirt, Koger B. Taney (afterward chief-justice), Nathan Clifford (after- 
ward justice of the United States Supreme Court), Reverdy Johnson, 
Caleb dishing, John Y. Mason, Edwin M. Stanton, William M. Evarts 
and Edwards Pierrepont. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 113 

injured by destructive insects may apply to the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture and learn how to save his grain and 
his fruit. He may there ascertain the cause and the cure 
of the diseases that afflict his cattle and his horses, and 
obtain information about soil, climate, fertilizers, seeds 
and methods of cultivation. In 1891 the Weather Bureau, 
previously under the control of the War Department, was 
transferred to the Department of Agriculture.* 

The executive departments are united in the President 
of the United States, who has the supreme control of them, 
and who is directly responsible to the people for his admin- 
istration of public affairs. 

* The Weather Bureau was established by an act of Congress in 
February, 1870, authorizing the Secretary of War to establish and 
equip stations in different parts of the country, where such simultaneous 
observations on the meteorological conditions of the atmosphere could 
be taken as would enable the department to give to all important ports 
on the Atlantic coast and Great Lakes timely notice of the approach of 
dangerous storms, and to collect such information as would be of value 
to shipping and other interests. The system has grown until there are 
now nearly five hundred stations in different parts of the country, hav- 
ing trained and intelligent observers of the weather, whose observations 
are telegraphed to the central office at Washington three times each 
day, and the bureau is thus enabled to foretell the probable character 
of the weather for the next twenty-four hours. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE COURTS OF JUSTICE. 

207. Determination of Rights.— The industrial, polit- 
ical, social and moral rights of a person may be questioned 
or endangered by another : to determine these rights courts 
of justice administer the laws of the States and of the 
United States. 

208. State Courts.— The State courts are the inferior 
or lower courts, such as the justice's court and the county 
courts; and the higher or superior courts, such as the 
court of appeals, the court of errors or the supreme court. 
In the State courts are tried all cases of a civil or of a 
criminal nature that arise within the jurisdiction of the 
court before which the cases are brought for decision. A 
case, if not appealed to a higher court, is settled in the 
court in which it is first brought. The laws of the several 
States and of the United States determine whether or not 
a case may be appealed to a higher court. Nearly all 
suits at law begun in State courts are settled there. Suits 
at law are managed by men learned in the law, who act 
in the place or turn of another, and who are therefore 
called attorneys-at-law. A person may manage his own 
case at law, but he is safer in employing an attorney. The 
court consists of the judge or judges sitting on the bench 
for the purpose of administering justice. The higher 
courts are provided with clerks or recording officers and 
reporters ; * there are also in attendence attorneys-at-law 

* Reports and Reporters. — The decisions of the higher courts 
are recorded, and from the records are made up the volumes of legal 
reports by the law reporters of the courts. Each State and the United 
114 



THE COURTS OF JUSTICE. 115 

and officers that assist the court, such as the sheriff, 
constables, tipstaves and crier. The judgment of an in- 
ferior court is final, unless set aside by the superior court. 

209. Military and Naval Courts.— Offences committed 
in the army or navy are tried before a military or a naval 
commission called a court-martial. Military offences at 
critical times in a nation's history demand fair and speedy 
trial. In times of war, civil procedure would be inade- 
quate to the necessities of the case. A case decided by a 
court-martial cannot be reopened except by order of Con- 
gress or of the President with the consent of Congress. 
Only the President of the United States can pardon per- 
sons found guilty by military or naval courts. 

210. Arbitration — Matters of difference between con- 
tending parties are often adjusted by arbitration, which is 
the reference of the matters in dispute to disinterested per- 
sons chosen by the parties, each party choosing one, and 
these two choosing a third arbitrator. Crimes cannot be 
made the subject of arbitration. The opinion or finding 
of the arbitrators is called an award, and is binding on 
the parties to the arbitration. In modern times nations 
have occasionally settled differences between themselves 
by arbitration.* 

States provide for the publication of their own series of reports. These 
reports are the guide of attorneys-at-law and of judges. They are pre- 
pared with great care. 

* This humane and peaceful method of arriving at a judgment was 
pursued by England and the United States in the celebrated Alabama 
case, a body of claims made by the United States against England for 
alleged violations of neutrality during the Civil War. The tribunal to 
determine the disputes between the two countries assembled December 
15, 1871, in Geneva, Switzerland, and consisted of five arbitrators— Count 
Federigo Sclopis of Salerano, named by the king of Italy ; Baron Ita- 
juba, named by the emperor of Brazil ; Mr. Jaques Staempfli, named 
by the president of Switzerland ; Charles Francis Adams, appointed by 
the President of the United States ; and Lord Chief-justice Sir Alexan- 
der Ceckburn, appointed by the queen of Great Britain. After an ex- 



116 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

211. Criminal Cases and Civil Cases. — All cases 
at law are divided into two classes — criminal and civil. 
A criminal case is one in which a suit is brought, usually 
in the name of the State, by one person against another 
for the commission of a wrong endangering his life, health, 
property, liberty or reputation. A civil case is one in 
which suit is brought to compel a person to execute his 
contract or to make compensation for refusing or neglecting 
to do so. Courts of justice administer civil and criminal 
law, and the same judge may at different times sit as a 
criminal court or as a court hearing civil cases. Courts 
of oyer and terminer and jail delivery and courts of nisi 
prius are courts which redress public wrongs — that is, 
crimes and misdemeanors. Courts of common pleas are 
courts which redress civil wrongs or wrongs arising from 
breach of contract. Probate courts, orphans' courts or 
surrogates' courts are courts which settle the estates of 
deceased persons. 

212. History of a Civil Case. — A civil case originates 
in a breach of contract. A contract is an agreement to do 
or not to do a particular thing.* Contracts are expressed 
— that is, stated formally in writing or verbally before wit- 
nesses ; or implied— that is, such as reason and justice dic- 
tate, and which the law presumes that every man under- 
takes to perform. If I employ a person to work for me, 
the law implies that I shall pay him the value of his ser- 
vices. It is implied in all contracts that if I fail in per- 
forming my part of the agreement I shall pay the other 
party such damages as he has sustained by my neglect or 



haustive examination of the matters submitted to it the tribunal awarded 
$15,500,000 in gold, September 14, 1872, as the indemnity to be paid 
by Great Britain to the United States in satisfaction of all claims re- 
ferred to the consideration of the tribunal. The award was promptly 
paid, and since that famous decision it has become the custom of civil- 
ized nations to seek a settlement of international disputes by arbitration. 
* See If 172, p. 90. 



THE COURTS OF JUSTICE. 117 

refusal. The great law of contracts is, that all persons are 
legally bound to keep their contracts or suffer the penalty 
for the breach of them. 

The party bringing the suit at law is called the plaintiff ; 
his opponent is called the defendant. Each party usually 
seeks the advice of an attorney, and if the parties cannot 
come to an amicable settlement the case is brought before 
the court having jurisdiction in such cases. After the 
filing of the necessary legal papers as introductory to the 
case in court, it comes on in its order for trial. The 
plaintiff, his attorney and his witnesses confront the 
defendant, his attorney and his witnesses. By mutual 
consent the case may be settled upon a hearing by the 
judge alone, but usually the case is set down for a jury 
trial. All cases that come before the courts are brought 
upon oath of the parties bringing them. Plaintiffs, de- 
fendants and witnesses at some stage of the case take 
oath as to the truth of the matter involved. This com- 
pelling every person connected with the case to declare 
his knowledge of it upon oath, imparts solemnity to the 
proceedings, and makes each person so swearing or affirm- 
ing, guilty of perjury if he does not tell the truth. 

Before the case opens, if a jury trial, a jury is empan- 
elled. Trial by jury is very ancient, and its origin is not 
clear. Some think that it arose in England from the cus- 
tom prevailing there many years ago of twelve men, called 
compurgators, or oath-makers, taking solemn oath that to 
the best of their individual belief certain statements were 
true or false. In those ancient days men sometimes re- 
sorted to curious devices to determine the guilt or the 
innocence of an accused person. He was compelled to 
plunge his naked arm or his body into boiling water or 
boiling oil, or to pick up a red-hot ploughshare, or to walk 
over a fiery path, or to wage battle in single combat. If 
he performed these requirements unharmed, he was thought 
to be innocent. At the present time, in England and in 



118 CIVIL GOVEUNMENT. 

the United States, trial by jury is the common manner of 
trying cases, and the right to trial by jury is secured to 
citizens by the unwritten constitution of England and by 
the written Constitution of the United States.* 

213. History of a Criminal Case. — Offences of an atro- 
cious nature, such as murder, arson, burglary and larceny, 
are called crimes ; offences of an inferior degree of guilt are 
called misdemeanors. Crimes and misdemeanors hazard 
the peace of society, and are therefore public wrongs. The 
person injured or his legal representative, or the attorney 
representing the State, brings the action in a criminal case. 
First, upon evidence sufficient to satisfy a justice of the 
peace, a magistrate or a judge, the person suspected or ac- 
cused of committing the offence is arrested, under warrant, 
by the constable or sheriff. Upon arrest the prisoner is 
subject to preliminary examination before the officer who 
issued the warrant. If not discharged, the prisoner is re- 
manded into custody to await trial. If the offence is a 
bailable one, he may be set at liberty on bail, which is 
secured to the State by sufficient securities. The State 
becomes the plaintiff and is called the prosecution ; the 
prisoner is the defendant. After a reasonable time the 
prisoner, if not out on bail, may petition for the right of 
habeas corpus, which the court is bound to notice.f Mean- 
while, the attorney for the State has drawn up, accurately 
and in legal form, a written accusation which is known as 
an indictment. The indictment states the offence of which 
the prisoner or the defendant is accused. The prosecuting 
attorney, representing the State, lays the indictment before 
the grand jury. 

214. The Grand Jury. — The grand jury is a body of 
men, varying in number in the different States, selected 
according to law in the county, to examine the indict- 
ments presented before it by the prosecuting attorney for 
the State or county. An indictment is the complaint in 

* See H 168, p. 89. t See fl 156, p. 85. 



THE COURTS OF JUSTICE. 119 

legal form against a person or persons for offences com- 
mitted by him or them against " the peace and dignity of 
the commonwealth." The indictment is known as a 
" bill." On the bill are endorsed the names of the wit- 
nesses by whose testimony the charge is supported. The 
attorney gives to the jury a history of the case so far as he 
knows it. The jury examines the witnesses endorsed on 
the indictment, and formally votes on each indictment. 
A true bill is the formal assent of the majority of the 
grand jury that the person indicted should be proceeded 
against according to law. If a true bill is not found, the 
case is thrown out and comes to an end. Each true bill 
becomes a criminal case before the court. Each grand 
jury has a foreman selected by themselves or appointed 
by the court. He writes across each indictment either " A 
true bill " or " Not a true bill," as the jury decides. All 
the proceedings of the grand jury are secret. Before the 
grand jury retires to consult they are charged by the pre- 
siding judge concerning the nature of their duties. The 
grand jury is a preliminary jury.* 

215. The Petit Jury.— The jury before whom civil and 
criminal cases are tried is called a petit jury. The term 
"jury " is usually employed as signifying a petit jury. The 
number of jurors must be twelve. The jurors are chosen 
from a number of electors selected according to law in 
the county. From the electors so selected twelve men 
are chosen, who take their place in the jury-box. This 
is called empaneling the jury. The jury is sworn and a case 
comes on for trial. 

* An entry may be made on the court-record by which the prosecu- 
tor or the plaintiff declares that he will proceed no further. Such an 
entry is called a nolle prosequi. It may be entered in a civil or in a 
criminal case. In criminal cases, before a jury is empaneled to try an 
indictment, and also after conviction, the prosecuting attorney has power 
to enter a nolle prosequi. A nolle prosequi does not acquit the defendant ; 
he may be indicted again. 



120 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

The manner of trying a civil case differs in some respects 
from that of a criminal case, but the general procedure is 
the same. Witnesses are examined and cross-examined. 
The attorney for the plaintiff or the prosecution presents 
his side of the case to the court and the jury. The attor- 
ney for the defence follows. The judge then charges the 
jury, relating briefly the history of the case as it has come 
before the court, and instructing the jurors as to the law 
applying in the case before them. The judge's charge is 
listened to with close attention by the jurors, for their 
verdict is the finding of the facts in the case ; what they 
say is fact is fact. After the charge they usually retire to 
the jury-room for consultation. During their consultation 
they are subject to a strict surveillance, and cannot com- 
municate with any person save the judge. A verdict is the 
unanimous opinion of the jury. If no verdict is reached, 
the foreman of the jury announces to the judge that the 
jury cannot agree. The disagreement of the jurors usually 
puts an end to the case. If they find a verdict, they re- 
turn to the jury-box and inform the court. The foreman 
gives the verdict. In a criminal case it is " Guilty " or 
" Not guilty." In a civil case it is " For the plaintiff" or 
" For the defendant." In most civil cases the jury fixes 
the amount of damages, and the amount named is a part 
of the verdict. At the close of the session of court the 
jurymen are discharged. 

Each elector is subject to jury-service unless exempted 
by law. In some of the States persons of certain pro- 
fessions or occupations, such as clergymen, or teachers, or 
physicians, or attorneys-at-law or members of the National 
Guard, are exempted from jury service. The judge at his 
discretion may excuse a man from jury-service. A court- 
house is often frequented by men who hope to be called as 
jurymen to fill vacancies, and thus earn a small sum. 
These men are inferior to the men called by the sheriff in 
due course of law from the body of the electors, yet they 



THE COURTS OF JUSTICE. 121 

often decide important cases in court. People sometimes 
complain of the miscarriage of justice in our courts. In 
rare instances the complaint may be well founded. It is 
difficult to obtain a well-qualified jury. Our laws exclude 
from the jury in any case all persons who, having learned 
about the case, have formed any opinion in regard to it. 
A jury is supposed to be absolutely free from prejudice in 
the case before them. It is the duty of the citizen to serve 
on jury when summoned. 

216. Judgment, Sentence and Execution. — The de- 
cision of the court follows the verdict of the jury. In civil 
cases the decision of the court is called the judgment; in 
criminal cases it is called the sentence. A judgment or a 
sentence follows the law. By force of the judgment the 
party obtaining it seizes and sells by the sheriff the per- 
sonal property of the adjudged person to the amount of 
the claim fixed by the judgment. If the personal prop- 
erty is not sufficient to satisfy the debt, the real property 
of the delinquent is levied on and sold by the sheriff to 
the amount of the judgment. 

If found guilty in a criminal case, the person is sen- 
tenced by the court to suffer the penalty of the law. A 
person sentenced to capital punishment may be respited 
or pardoned by the governor of the State. The carrying 
out of the judgment or the sentence of the court is the 
execution. 

217. The Appeal. — If the party who loses the suit 
thinks there has been an error of any kind in the trial, his 
attorney applies for a new trial, which, if granted, proceeds 
before a new jury in the same manner as when first tried. 
If a new trial is not granted, he may appeal from the de- 
cision of the court to the supreme court of the State. The 
supreme court either orders a new trial in the lower court 
or renders a decision in the case. The decision of the 
supreme court of the State is final, excepting for a certain 
class of cases designated by the Federal Constitution ; 



122 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

which cases may be appealed to the inferior courts of the 
United States or to the Supreme Court of the United 
States. Cases tried in the supreme court of the State or 
of the United States are usually decided by the judges 
alone, without the intervention of a jury. 

218. The Supreme Court of the United States. — The 
Constitution provides for one Supreme Court, which meets 
in the Capitol at Washington, D. C, and consists of a chief- 
justice and eight associate justices. It holds one session 
annually, beginning on the second Monday of October. A 
quorum consists of any six justices of the court, and the 
decision of a quorum is the decision of the court. It ex- 
ercises original jurisdiction in all cases affecting ambas- 
sadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in 
which a State is a party. All other cases before it are 
cases appealed into it from State courts or from inferior 
courts of the United States. It may modify its own de- 
cisions, but its judgment is final. 

219. Inferior Courts of the United States. — The 
Constitution empowers Congress to establish United States 
courts inferior to the Supreme Court. Under this author- 
ity it has established sixty-three District Courts, nine 
Circuit Courts, nine Appellate Courts, the court of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, Territorial Courts, the Court of Claims 
and Consular Courts.* 



* The sixty-three districts are — Alabama, New York, Texas, three each ; 
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, 
North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Wiscon- 
sin, two each ; other States, one each. 

The nine circuits are— 

1. Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 

2. Vermont, Connecticut and New York. 

3. New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. 

4. Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South 

Carolina. 

5. Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. 



124 CIVIL GOVERNMENT, 

The judges in the Federal courts are appointed by the 
President with the consent of the Senate, and hold office 
during good behavior. They may be removed from office 
on impeachment and conviction by the Senate. Any judge, 
having attained the age of seventy years, may retire on full 
pay after ten years of consecutive service. The compensa- 
tion of the judges cannot be diminished during their ten- 
ure of office. 

220. Officers of United States Courts.— United States 
commissioners are appointed by the circuit judges to per- 
form various duties, the principal of which are to arrest 
and hold for trial persons accused of offences against the 
United States, and to assist the district and the circuit 
courts by taking testimony for use in the trial of cases. 
The number of commissioners is at the discretion of the 
judges. To aid in the administration of justice, either 

6. Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. 

7. Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, 

8. Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Colorado, 

North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. 

9. California, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, Washington and Idaho. 
The District Courts, the Circuit Courts and the Appellate Courts 

were created to relieve the Supreme Court ; their jurisdiction is pre- 
scribed and regulated by Congress. The court of the District of Colum- 
bia exercises a civil and a criminal jurisdiction in that District. The 
Territorial courts exercise the same jurisdiction in the several Terri- 
tories. The court of claims meets in Washington, and has the peculiar 
duty of deciding what claims against the United States should be paid. 
The United States cannot be compelled to pay anything it owes, but 
Congress organized this court as a judicial commission to examine all 
claims against the United States and to report its decisions to Congress. 
It files its opinions with a committee of Congress, and claims found due 
by the United States are paid by order of Congress out of unexpended 
money in the Treasury. 

Consular courts are held, in some cases, by American consuls in ser- 
vice in foreign countries ; the cases decided in them are such as arise 
in commercial transactions between Americans and foreigners where the 
matters in dispute are not of a grave nature. 



THE COURTS OF JUSTICE. 125 

State or Federal judges, a justice of the peace or a magis- 
trate may perform the duty of a commissioner. The 
State Government thus aids the Federal Government in 
arresting and examining accused persons. It is through 
the United States commissioner, or the official acting in 
his stead according to law, that the Federal Government 
exercises its power over individuals. A State officer exer- 
cising the authority of a commissioner acts as an officer of 
the United States, and not as a State officer. 

For each of the sixty-three districts the President ap- 
points a United States marshal and a district attorney. 
The marshal is the executive officer of the circuit and dis- 
trict courts, with duties corresponding to those of the 
sheriff in the county. The writ of a United States mar- 
shal has authority anywhere in the United States. The 
district attorney is the law-officer of the United States for 
the district. 

221. Justice Secured under the Constitution. — By 
the exercise of the powers given to the Supreme Court by 
the Constitution, the people of the United States secure 
justice. The jarring interests of individuals could not be 
quieted except by the administration of law by a tribunal 
from whose decisions there can be no appeal. The United 
States Supreme Court is our court of last resort, and its 
judgments have been so tempered with wisdom that it has 
become in power what it has long been in name, " the bal- 
ance-wheel in our system of government." Justice could 
not, however, be secured if the Federal Constitution could 
not be adapted from time to time to the interests of the 
nation as they have been recognized by the people. The 
Constitution makes provision for amendments, of which 
more than seven hundred have been proposed in Congress 
since 1789 ; the fifteen now in force were proposed by 
Congress and ratified by the State legislatures, 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND. 

222. The People. — Two permanent elements in gov- 
ernment are the people and the land. Our civil institu- 
tions began to move westward across the country soon 
after its acquisition, and chiefly in three main currents — 
a northern, a middle and a southern current. The old 
thirteen States are the parents of all the States west of 
them. There is a larger New England west of New Eng- 
land, a larger Virginia west of Virginia. Not only have 
State constitutions moved westward with the people, but 
opinions, beliefs, characteristics, morals, industries, habits 
of daily life, stories and anecdotes, educational systems, 
styles of building, systems of law, of public roads and 
of public charities, religious views, names of towns, cities 
and counties, have moved westward also. 

Any one who would understand the government of the 
people of the United States must understand the great 
law of migration: similar civil institutions follow lines of 
equal temperature. The customs and opinions prevailing 
in North Carolina and Georgia are not found in the North- 
west, nor are the customs and opinions of New England 
found in the South-west. 

223. The Land is the field of the people's activity. 
The use of the land is sacred to the people. The land of 
our nation will in time extend as far as the sovereign will 
of the people shall dictate. It is probable that only the 
waves of the ocean, the frozen barriers of the North and 
the torrid heat of the South will ultimately mark the 
boundaries of our national domain. 

126 



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//<?* JZwLgi±axle 1QS West *tqt?i <0O" 








THE 



^SH_OWIIlG__LAN--E>-ACg"CrTRED BY 1 

UNITED STATES,, 

THE PRESENT TIME. L^/c^ 



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TO 




THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND. 127 

224. The Original Domain— The map shows the orig- 
inal domain of the thirteen States fixed by the treaty of 
Paris, 1783. It shows also the various acquisitions since 
that time. In the old States no common system of public 
survey was followed, but in the Western 'states, in that 
portion of the country known as the Public Domain, a 
national system of survey has been followed, based upon 
the congressional township* 

225. How the Township is Formed.— The Govern- 
ment surveyors in making a survey first establish a princi- 
pal meridian. Twenty -four principal meridians have already 
been established, the first of which was the line dividing 
Ohio from Indiana. 

A parallel line crossing the principal meridian at right 
angles is then established, and called a base line. 

Every six miles apart, east and west of the principal 
meridian, another meridian is established, and every six 
miles apart, north and south of the base line, another 
parallel line is established. These meridians and parallels 
are called township lines. 

_ The square tracts of land enclosed by the township 
lines are called congressional townships. Each township is 
nearly six miles square ; not exactly, because the eastern 
and western boundary-lines of the township are meridians ; 

* The congressional township is not to be confounded with the civil 
township; it is not a political division of the countv, nor has it any po- 
litical organization. It is simply a tract of land, six miles square, insti- 
tuted to afford a convenient method of recording and describing land 

The survey of the Public Domain is under the control of Congress 
andwas inaugurated by a committee of the Continental Congress in 
1/85. Thomas Jefferson was chairman of this committee. The com- 
mittee recommended that all public land should be surveyed into hun- 
dreds or townships of ten miles square. At the suggestion of James 
Monroe, the township, or hundred, as it was called, was reduced to six 
miles square, and the sectional subdivision of the township was made 
one mile square, or 640 acres, a suggestion that gave us our system of 
public survey. 



128 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 



hence, on account of their convergence toward the north 
and divergence toward the south, a township is not a per- 
fect square, and the townships would constantly decrease 



G.M. 



P.M. 



C.L. 



B.L. 



C.LJ 



/ / 



! I I I i I I I 



IC.L. 



B.L. 



n 



C.L. 



G.M. 



P.M. 



Diagram of a Group of Townships, etc. 
P. M. represents part of a principal meridian ; B. L., part of a base 
line ; G. M., part of a guide meridian ; C. L., correction lines, a is 
township 3 south, of range 2 east of the principal meridian ; b is 
township 3 north, of range 5 west of the principal meridian ; c is 
township 7 north, of range 8 west of the principal meridian; d is 
township 4 south, of range 10 west of the principal meridian. 

in size toward the north and increase in size toward the 
south as the distance from the base line increased, ulti- 
mately defeating the purpose of the survey, were it not 



THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND. 



129 



for correction lines, which (in the eastern part of the Public 
Domain) are established every twenty-four miles north 
and every thirty miles south of the base line. A new 
meridian, called a guide meridian, is also established every 
fifty-four miles east and west of the principal meridian. 
By the use of the correction lines and the guide meridians 
the size of the township is restored. 

Townships are numbered in order north and south of 
the base line, and in ranges east and west of the principal 
meridian. 

226. Sections. — Each township is divided into thirty- 
six sections. Each section is one mile square, and con- 
tains nearly 640 acres * divided into sixteen tracts of 40 

Township line north. 



6 


5 


4 


3 


2 


1 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


18 


17 


16 


15 


14 


13 


19 


20 


21 


22 


23 


24 


30 


29 


28 


27 


26 


25 


31 


32 


33 


34 


35 


36 



Township line sonth. 
Diagram of a Township divided into sections of 640 acres each. 

acres each. The lines that bound the sections are called 
section lines. Sections are numbered from east to west 
and west to east alternately. f 

* As the lines forming the eastern and western boundaries of the 
section converge toward the north, the section is not a perfect square, 
hence does not contain exactly 640 acres. 

f In townships on the Public Domain established by the Government 
9 



130 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 



As the survey works westward, fractional or imperfect 
sections are located on the west side of the township. 
The United States surveyors locate the " corners " of the 
sections and half-mile marks between the corners. Their 
work is then completed, and a natural object or an artifi- 
cial construction, duly registered on the surveyor's field- 
book, marks the survey. 



c 
















a 










b 







Diagram of a Section divided into tracts of 40 acres each. — As- 
suming the diagram of the section to be section 6 in township 5 north, 
of range 2 west of the sixth principal meridian, lot a would be de- 
scribed as the N. W. I of the S. W. \ of Sec. 6 in township 5 north, of 
range 2 west of the sixth principal meridian ; lot b is the S. E. J of the 
S. W. i of Sec. 6 in township 5 north, of range 2 west of the sixth 
principal meridian ; lot c is the N. W. J of the N. W. } of Sec. 6 in 
township 5 north, of range 2 west of the sixth principal meridian, and 
may be abbreviated thus : N. W. i of the N. W. i, Sec. 6, T. 5 N., K. 2 
W. of 6th P. M. 

By this system a deed of land may be written in a few 
words, and it is intelligible to any person. Deeds of land 
in the older thirteen States are usually long and the boun- 
daries are often obscure, the deed calling for " an oak tree " 
or u a certain pile of stones " or " a stump." Land in the 



survey, public roads are usually located on each section line, so that 
the highways of the township divide it into squares of one mile each. 
School-houses are usually located at each alternate cross-road, thus 
giving nine school-houses, two miles apart, to each township. The 
school-house stands at the centre of a school district two miles square, 



THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND. 131 

Public Domain is easily located and described by lines of 
latitude and longitude. 

The munificence of our Government in providing land 
for the people has been an important element in the settle- 



Diagram of Section for Practice in Locating Land.— Assume 
the section to be sec. 4, township 7 north, range 3 west of third princi- 
pal meridian. 

ment of the newer States. It opened the way for a vig- 
orous, progressive and law-abiding people in regions which 
a few years ago were wild Indian lands. 

227. Homesteads.— On the 20th of May, 1862, Presi- 
dent Lincoln approved and signed " An act to secure home- 
steads to actual settlers on the Public Domain." By this 
act the head of a family, man or woman, or any single 
person, twenty-one years of age, who is a citizen of the 
United States, or person who has declared an intention 
of becoming such, has the right to locate upon one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of unoccupied public land of the 
Public Domain. The settler must enter the land in a 
United States land-office and live continuously upon the 
land for five years. If he is a full citizen of the United 
States and has complied with the homestead law, he will 



132 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

receive from the Federal Government a patent or deed for 
his land free of cost, excepting land-office fees, which are 
nominal. No person who is the proprietor of more than 
one hundred and sixty acres of land in any State or Ter- 
ritory can acquire any right under the homestead law. 

228. Pre-emptions. — One hundred and sixty acres of 
any unsold land belonging to the United States may be 
pre-empted by any citizen who is the head of a family, 
man or woman, or by any single person twenty-one years 
of age. The pre-emptor must settle upon and occupy the 
land and build a house upon it. Within thirty days from 
the pre-emption he must-file a declaration of his intention 
to purchase the land. After living upon the land for one 
year continuously and improving it, he must present 
proof at the land-office of his occupancy and improvement, 
and pay for the land at the Government price, which is 
$2.50 per acre within the limits of the land granted to rail- 
roads, and $1.25 outside of such grants. No person can 
acquire any right of pre-emption who is the proprietor of 
three hundred and twenty acres of land in any State or 
Territory, nor who quits or abandons his residence on his 
own land to reside on the public land in the same State or 
Territory. 

229. School Lands.^-For the promotion of education 
the Government originally set apart Section 16 in every 
congressional township, and in 1852 Section 36 was added 
to aid in the support of public schools. These sections 
are called school sections. All the States in the Union 
have received land or land-scrip as a fund for common 
schools and for the endowment of State educational insti- 
tutions, usually for agricultural and mechanical colleges. 
The total area thus granted is about 100,000,000 acres. All 
this land is estimated to be worth at least $1.25 per acre, 
but much of it has been sold at a higher price. Never 
before in the world's history has there been such a munif- 
icent national gift for educational purposes. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE PEOPLE AND THE MONEY. 

230. National Finance. — The industrial interests of 
the people of the United States require a national cur- 
rency, a national revenue and a national system of bank- 
ing. Congress alone has power to coin money and to reg- 
ulate its value. 

231. What is Money ? — Money is a measure of value 
expressed in coin. The money of the United States is the 
gold and silver coin of the United States. The two pre- 
cious metals are used for money because — 

1. They easily receive and firmly retain impressions ; 

2. They do not rust ; 

3. They wear away but slowly ; 

4. They are easily detected from other metals ; 

5. They are easily alloyed and purified ; 

6. They represent a large amount of labor in a small 

compass. 

For the coinage of money Congress has established 
mints at Philadelphia, Pa., San Francisco, Cal., New Or- 
leans, La., and Carson City, Nev. ; and assay-offices at 
New York, Charlotte, N. C, Boise City, Id., and Denver, 
Col. 

The coins of foreign lands usually bear an impress of 
the face of the sovereign during whose reign they were 
coined. Thus coins become of rare interest in the study 
of history and in obtaining portraits of famous men. The 
guinea took its name from the Gold Coast of Africa ; the 
napoleon, from the famous soldier of France who first 
coined it. The coins of the United States bear the impress 

133 



134 CIVIL QOVEHNMENT. 

of the great seal of the people, a head or figure of Liberty 
and the national motto, " E Pluribus Unum." Some have 
thought that our coins should bear the impress of the 
face of the President during whose administration they are 
coined. But this would be contrary to the spirit of the 
Constitution; the people are the Government, and the 
symbol of the sovereignty of the people is therefore appro- 
priately stamped upon our coins. The unit of value in 
our coinage is the dollar. The gold coins are the two- 
and-a-half dollar piece or quarter eagle, the five-dollar 
piece or half eagle, the ten-dollar piece or eagle and the 
twenty-dollar piece or double eagle. The silver coins are 
the dollar, half-dollar, quarter-dollar and dime. There are 
also coined the bronze one-cent piece and the nickel five- 
cent piece, known as " minor coins." Our coinage is based 
upon the decimal system, and was introduced by Thomas 
Jefferson after his ministry to France.* 

232. Substitutes for Money. — The right to coin money 
carries with it the right to issue paper money. But paper 
bills are only the evidence of a credit, and are but substi- 
tutes for money. 

The United States issues several substitutes for gold and 
silver which pass, under certain restrictions, as money. 
They are all bills of credit. They consist of Treasury 
notes, national bank-notes, coin certificates and scrip 
(sometimes issued). 

At different times in our history the ordinary revenues 
of the Government have not been sufficient to meet its 
expenses. Rather than obtain funds by increased tax- 



* The die of the Goddess of Liberty used on our early coins was first 
cut by Spencer, the inventor of the Spencer lathe. He cut a medallion 
of Washington's wife, and some of the first issue of coins were struck 
with her portrait. When Washington saw them he was much dis- 
pleased, and requested that the figure be changed. Spencer then placed 
a cap on the head, altered the features a little and called it the a God- 
dess of Liberty." 



THE PEOPLE AND THE MONEY. 135 

ation, Congress has borrowed money on the faith and 
credit of the United States .* 

233, Treasury Notes. — Treasury notes, sometimes 
called "greenbacks," are promises to pay made by the 
Federal Government. These notes are a legal tender f at 
their face value for all debts public and private, except 
duties on imports and interest on the public debt. 

234. National Bank-Notes. —The notes printed by the 
Government and issued by the national banks are a legal 
tender in the payment of all dues to the United States 

* Some people have an idea that the Government can create money, 
or, as is sometimes said, make "fiat" money. The country has had an 
experience with such money. During the Revolutionary War the 
United States and the States, having no coin and practically no credit, 
began issuing fiat paper money. The paper money of the States and 
of the United States was printed in such immense quantities that it 
had little value. It was so rudely printed as to invite easy and success- 
ful counterfeiting. The congressional paper so depreciated in value 
that it was a common expression to speak of a thing having little value 
as " not worth a continental," meaning a piece of congressional paper 
money. Prices rose, and gold and silver coin went out of circulation. 
A barrel of flour cost $1575 ; John Adams paid $2000 for a suit of 
clothes. As an illustration of the worthlessness of fiat money, the 
following copy of an original bill, made in Philadelphia in 1781, is 
interesting : 

Col. A. McLane Bo't of W. Nicoll, 

1 pair boots $600.00 

6 3-4ths yds. calico at $85 per yd 573.75 

6 yds. chintz at $150 per yd 900.00 

4 l-2hlf yds. moreen at $100 450.00 

4 handkerchiefs at $100 . 400.00 

8 yds. quality binding at $4 32.00 

1 skein of silk 10.00 

$296.5.75 
If paid in specie, £18 10s. 

That is, $2965.75 in fiat money was worth £18 10s. ($92.50) in gold 
coin. 

t A legal tender is such an offer of payment as a creditor must accept 
or forfeit his right to interest on the amount due him. 



136 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

except import duties, and for all dues from the United 
States except interest on the public debt. For debts be- 
tween private individuals they are not a legal tender. 

235. Currency Certificates.— Silver and gold certif- 
icates are issued by Congress on the security of the gold 
and silver dollars deposited in the Treasury of the United 
States. They are the nearest to money of any substitutes 
for money issued by the Government. They are receiv- 
able for customs, taxes and all public dues, and when so 
received may be reissued. They are a legal tender for all 
obligations, public and private, excepting that part of the 
national debt and the interest thereon that the Govern- 
ment has contracted to pay in gold coin of the United 
States. 

236. Scrip, or Fractional Currency. — Paper scrip is 
similar to a Treasury note. It has been issued occasion- 
ally by Congress in fractional parts of a dollar, but in 
recent years the smaller silver coins have taken its place. 

237. Government Bonds are evidences of indebted- 
ness issued by the Federal Government for money w r hich 
it has borrowed or for obligations which it has assumed. 
The bonds now in existence are those bearing two per 
cent, interest, those bearing four per cent, interest, those 
bearing five per cent, interest and the Pacific Railroad 
bonds, bearing six per cent, interest.* 

* In 1875, Congress authorized the issue of three classes of bonds, 
bearing interest at the rate of 5 per cent., 4 J per cent, and 4 per cent, 
respectively, to redeem bonds previously issued at a higher rate of 
interest. The right was reserved to redeem the 5-per-cent. bonds after 
July 1, 1885, tha 4J-per-cent. bonds after Sept. 1, 1891, and the 4-per- 
cent, bonds after July 1, 1907. The 5-per-cent, bonds were redeemed 
previous to Jan. 1, 1886; of the 4J-per-cent. bonds, $250,000,000 were 
issued, of which, previous to July, 1891, there had been redeemed 
$199,130,800. During this month the Government decided that any of 
the holders of these bonds who desired might have the privilege, during 
the pleasure of the Government, of retaining them after Sept. 1, 1891, 
at 2 per cent, interest, and that those holders who desired could have 



THE PEOPLE AND THE MONEY. 137 

238. National Banks.— On the 20th of February, 1863, 
Congress passed the law creating the national banking sys- 
tem. About a year later it was revised, and has con- 
tinued to the present time without material change. Any 
number of persons, not less than five, may organize them- 
selves into a corporation and apply to the Government for 
permission to become a national bank. The contributors to 
the capital of the bank are called stockholders. The stock- 
holders elect the directors, and usually the directors elect the 
president, vice-president, cashier and other employes of 
the bank. The directors determine what portion of the cap- 
ital shall be invested in United States bonds. On deposit- 
ing these bonds with the treasurer of the United States the 
bank receives back nine-tenths the amount of the bonds 
in national currency or bank-bills, printed by the Govern- 
ment and issued by the bank, in such denominations as 
the bank requires. If the purchase of bonds by the bank 
amounts to $500,000, the bank will receive $450,000 in 
national bills for circulation. This $450,000 is loaned by 
the bank in the course of business ; the bank also receives 
interest on the Government bonds it purchased. The bank 
does a discount business by purchasing securities, such as 
notes, drafts, etc. It loans its own issues and also the 
deposits made by its patrons. Thus a national bank is a 
bank of issue, a bank of deposit, a bank of discounts and 
a bank of loans. 

National banks are required to create a surplus fund, 

their bonds redeemed on and after Sept. 2, 1891. In February, 1894, 
$50,000,000 of 5-per-cent. bonds were issued, but at such a premium 
that the interest payable on them is only about 3 per cent. 

The Pacific Railroad bonds are known as " Currency Sixes." They 
were issued to assist the Pacific Railroad Companies in building the 
roads, because it was believed that the building of the roads would 
promote the general welfare of the people. The Government holds 
second-mortgage liens on the roads as security for the payment of the 
bonds. 



138 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

for which purpose the directors must set apart each year 
ten per cent, of the profits of the bank until the surplus 
fund is equal to twenty per cent, of the capital of the 
bank. This surplus fund provides the means for making 
good any losses that may occur. National banks are also 
required to maintain a reserve fund in gold and silver coin 
equal to about twenty per cent, of the capital of the bank. 
By this provision the holders of national bank-notes may 
convert them into gold and silver by presenting the notes 
to the bank that issued them. For the protection of the 
interests of the people the Government inspects each na- 
tional bank through a bank examiner, who is empowered 
to enter a national bank at any time, without notice, and 
examine its affairs. He reports the condition of the banks 
to the Comptroller of the Treasury. 

239. Advantages of National Banks. — The advan- 
tages of national banks to the people are — 

1. The bonds of the Government, which were issued as 
a substitute for money, are made the basis of a banking- 
system, and are held by the Government as security for 
those who take the bank's bills. 

2. All the national banks are based upon the same sys- 
tem, and the notes of these banks are a national currency. 
The notes of a Florida national bank pass at par in 
Oregon ; if the Florida bank were a State bank, its liabil- 
ities might not be guaranteed, and its notes would pass at 
a discount proportioned to the distance they circulated 
from the bank itself. Before the creation of the national 
banking law each State had a banking system of its own, 
and the finances of the country were frequently disturbed 
by the want of uniformity. The national banking system 
of the United States is more nearly perfect than any other 
system of finance in the world. 

240. The National Debt exists in two forms — the 
interest-bearing and the non-interest-bearing debt. The 
interest-bearing debt consists of the two-per-cent, the four- 



THE PEOPLE AND THE MONEY. 139 

per-cent., the five-per-cent. and the six-per-cent. Govern- 
ment bonds, and refunding certificates bearing four per 
cent. The non-interest-bearing debt consists of those 
Government bonds which have matured, but which 
have not yet been presented for payment, legal ten- 
der notes, old demand notes, national bank-notes and 
scrip or fractional currency. A large portion of the evi- 
dences of the national debt has doubtless been lost or 
destroyed, and will never be presented for payment. The 
principal and interest of the national debt must be paid 
by the peoj)le, and payment is guaranteed by the " full 
faith and credit" of the people of the United States.* 

241. The Revenue of the United States is derived 
from — 

1. Customs : 

2. Internal revenue ; 

3. Direct tax ; 

4. Public lands ; 

5. Other sources. 

The customs duties arise from the taxes on importations ; 
the number of dutiable articles is about eleven hundred. 
The internal revenue is derived from taxes on spirits 
tobacco, fermented liquors and fines for violating the in- 
ternal revenue laws. The income from the public lands 
is from sales of land, fees and surveys. By " other 
sources " is meant the receipts of the patent-office, copj^- 
rights, escheats, fines, penalties, etc. 

242. Government Expenses. — The expenses of the 
Federal Government are — 

1. The principal and interest of the public debt; 

2. The expenses of the Government for salaries, care of 

Government property, etc. ; 

3. The expenses of the army and navy ; 

* The amount of the national debt, Jan. 1, 1894, was $963,605,917.13. 



140 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

4. The expenses created by the Civil War : for pensions, 

war-claims, etc. ; 

5. The expenses necessary for the support of Govern- 

ment institutions, museyms, hospitals, scientific 
investigations, internal improvements, and for all 
other measures instituted to promote the general 
welfare of the people.* 

* The total revenue of the Federal Government for the fiscal year 
ending June 30, 1893, amounted to $732,871,214.78. 

The total expenditures of the Federal Government for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1893, amounted to $787,629,706.19. 

The excess of expenditures over receipts for the fiscal year ending 
June 30, 1893, was $54,758,491.41. 

The total amount of money in circulation Jan. 1, 1894, including 
gold, silver, gold and silver certificates, treasury notes, United States 
notes, currency certificates and national bank-notes, was $1,729,01 8,266.00. 






CHAPTER XV. 

THE CITIZEN. 

243. How Considered in American Law.— A citizen 
is a person born or naturalized in the United States. Men, 
women and children are citizens. Those citizens who 
have the right to vote are electors. Native electors may 
fill any office within the gift of the people, and naturalized 
electors are eligible to any State or Federal office except 
that of the President and of the Vice-President. Since it 
is now possible for a member of the Cabinet to succeed 
the President in some contingencies, it is improbable that 
hereafter naturalized citizens will be called into the Presi- 
dent's Cabinet, as they have been in several administra- 
tions in the past. A citizen of the United States residing 
in any State of the Union is a citizen of that State. Nat- 
uralized persons first become citizens of the United States, 
and then by right become citizens of the State in which 
they choose to reside. The naturalization of an alien nat- 
uralizes his wife and those of his children who are under 
age. The children of an alien who are born in this coun- 
try, if they continue to live here, are considered natives ; 
they may, however, when they become of age, elect to 
become citizens of the country of which their father was 
a citizen. Children of American citizens born in foreign 
lands are considered American citizens, unless when they 
become of age they elect to become citizens of the foreign 
country. Citizens of the United States are entitled to the 
protection of the American Government. Every citizen 
is born with industrial, political, legal, social and moral 
rights and duties. 

244. An Industrial Person. — It is my right and my 

141 



142 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

duty as a citizen to exercise my powers industrially. In 
order to do this I require training and education, which 
are imparted to me by my parents and by the State organ- 
izing its efforts in a system of public education. Educa- 
tion is given to me as an opportunity in life at the expense 
of the community, which is taxed to support an educa- 
tional system. Schools of high grade, such as technical 
schools, colleges and universities, offer more extensive 
means for training and acquisition, but not usually at the 
expense of the State. In most of the States, however, 
exist institutions of learning of higher rank than that of 
the common school, at which, if I choose, I may obtain 
further preparation for my work in life. As an industrial 
person I should equip myself to do some necessary and 
honorable work in the world ; by training and acquisition 
protect myself against poverty and distress, and secure 
the comforts of life to those who may be dependent upon 
my efforts. My first duty is to acquire a reasonable de- 
gree of skill that shall employ me in a manner most worthy 
of my powers. Life is real, and I must be prepared to act 
my part amid its realities. Not alone training the mind by 
means of books, but manual training and actually learning 
things and men, and thinking accurately and swiftly about 
them, constitute my best preparation for the industrial life. 
245. A Political Person. — As a citizen I am a polit- 
ical person, governing and being governed. I participate 
in the life of my generation, discuss public questions, listen 
to others, join a political party which best expresses my 
conscientious views, and to the best of my ability I act 
with that party for the welfare of my locality, my State 
and my country. In order to do this I must be acquainted 
with the nature of the government of which I am a part. 
My knowledge must extend to the examination of the mo- 
tives of men, the duties of citizenship, the record of polit- 
ical parties, the consequences of political actions and the 
probable effect of those political measures which I support 



THE CITIZEN. 143 

or oppose. Newspapers, books, travel, inquiry, information 
of all kinds, must be made subservient to that wise know- 
ledge of men and measures which alone can make me a 
thinking citizen instead of an ignorant partisan. If an 
elector, I must vote as wisely as my judgment permits, 
and I must use my individual influence to secure purity 
in elections, official honesty and fidelity, and, above all, 
to create a wise and conscientious citizenship. This is 
a government a of the people, by the people and for the 
people." Therefore the people must be wise, just and 
faithful. 

246. A Legal Person. — As a legal person I am in cer- 
tain relations to men and to things. I indirectly make 
the laws if an elector, or directly if a legislator. I am sub- 
ject to the laws. I inherit or obtain property, and thereby 
must assume responsibilities. I stand in personal rela- 
tions, such as husband to wife, parent to child, child to 
parent, guardian to ward, brother to sister, employe to 
employer. In all of these relations I am responsible for 
my conduct. The ownership of property brings me into 
direct relations with the government, because my property 
aids in continuing that government. I am anxious for 
peace and prosperity, and must conduct my business ac- 
cording to the spirit as well as to the letter of the laws. If 
my services are demanded by the State or by the nation 
to carry arms for the defence of my country, I must go 
willingly, and personally assist in continuing or in restor- 
ing the blessings of liberty to my fellow-citizens. I am 
liable to jury-service and to the duties incident to offi- 
cial service, provided I am called to serve in a public 
capacity. In my business relations I am constantly sub- 
ject to the performance of my contracts, whether expressed 
or implied. I am responsible for the payment of taxes to 
the local and to the State authorities. I have right to sue 
and to be sued, to appeal to the protection of the law if I 
am injured by another, and to have a free, full, speedy 



144 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

and impartial trial before a jury of my peers in case I am 
the defendant in a case at law. My legal rights are jeal- 
ously guarded by the laws of the land and by the Consti- 
tution of the State and of the United States. My principal 
legal right is my equality of right with my fellow-citizens 
before the law. 

247. As a Member of Society. — As a member of a 
free society composed of my fellow-citizens I enter a large 
group of relations. There are innumerable duties and 
rights necessary to the welfare of society which must be ob- 
served by the citizen, although there may be no special law 
requiring their observance. Mere laws cannot make society 
good. Laws are not better nor wiser than the community 
which enacts them. The unwritten laws of society are 
often more potent than the written laws. Public opinion 
praises or condemns human actions. I contribute to pub- 
lic opinion by expressing my own. I influence society by 
my character, my manner of life, my opinions, my use of 
property, my treatment of others, my ideas of right and 
wrong, my entire conduct as a human being. I must there- 
fore consider the rights of society as general rather than as 
particular, as affecting masses of men rather than individ- 
uals. Society implies citizens as a community of moral 
persons. Public morals are not likely to be better than 
private morals ; public opinion is colored by the private 
opinions of energetic men and women. As a member of 
society my duties enlarge to the consideration of " Who is 
my neighbor?" I must so live that the motives and prin- 
ciples that actuate and direct my life, if applied as a rule, 
would operate for the welfare of society. 

248. As a Moral Person. — Government is moral be- 
cause the individuals who constitute it are moral in their 
nature. All that tends toward goodness and happiness 
and honor and civilization is moral. Unfortunately, there 
are criminals and evil men in human society. These 
must be controlled or removed. Prisons and jails are as 



THE CITIZEN. 145 

necessary as school-houses and churches. Great cities are 
crowded with the vicious and the unfortunate, whose chil- 
dren are endangered by evil associations and w T hose train- 
ing is accidental or immoral. 

Morality is fostered by industry, sobriety, righteousness 
and self-government. There is something w T ithin me that 
tells me of higher relations than those of earth. I have 
aspirations for eternal life. I know that God is ; that right 
makes might; that morality conduces to my welfare, to 
the welfare of society and to the peace of the whole world. 
My moral relations are the loftiest which I can possibly 
sustain, because by them I stand a brother to my fellows 
and a child of God. 

The chief duty of a citizen of the United States is to use his 
influence, and if he is an elector to deposit his vote, for purity in 
politics and for the education of the people, industrially, polit- 
ically and morally. 
10 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE PEOPLE IN POLITICS. 

249. Distrust of the People.— The only experiment in 
human history of popular government on a grand scale is 
the Government of the people of the United States. At the 
time of its organization the people of Europe disagreed as 
to the probable result of the experiment. Few believed 
that the new Republic would long survive the shocks inci- 
dent to so novel an undertaking. Could a Government so 
constituted long endure ? Would it not fall a prey to party 
greed, to factions, to political conspiracies or to the riot of 
the mob? Were the masses capable of self-government? 
Could the people be trusted to secure and to maintain 
their own substantial happiness ? Could the governing and 
the governed become the same without the overthrow of 
all government ? These questions, and many others like 
them, were asked a hundred years ago when the Govern- 
ment of the people of the United States began. In ancient 
times there were republics, such as Greece, and during 
the Middle Ages, such as those in Italy ; but these repub- 
lics decayed, and their very names are almost forgotten. 

250. Influence of Traditions. — What has prevented 
the decay of the Government of the people of the United 
States? 

Perhaps the first answer is, We did not break away en- 
tirely from our traditions when we organized a government 
for ourselves. An enduring government is composed of 
many elements, all of which may be arranged in two 
classes : those which are institutional, and those which 
are constitutional. The institutional elements are those 

146 



THE PEOPLE IN POLITICS. 147 

which enter into the way of life habitual to the people— 
their manner of thinking, their social institutions, their 
schools and their churches, their books and their papers, 
their industries and their amusements. The constitu- 
tional elements are political: they are such elements as 
gather about great public questions, methods of govern- 
ing men, of repressing or of removing crimes and evils, 
of protecting interests and rights, and of securing these 
rights for the general welfare. Our traditions as a people 
aided us in developing our institutions from the past 
without a serious break ; Europe instructed us in art and 
science, but we were obliged to form our constitutions 
chiefly by our own political experience. Fortunately for 
us, the men who were prominent in organizing our Gov- 
ernment were conservative men. They were influenced 
by two systems of government at that time attracting the 
attention of the world : the English system of a constitu- 
tional monarchy, and the French system of a mixed dem- 
ocracy then advocated by French political writers. They 
adopted a system of representative democracy, which em- 
bodied the best elements of both ; and to this day the chief 
executive and the Senate, by the system of indirect election 
by the people, and the judiciary of the United States, by 
Federal appointment, continue the conservative elements 
peculiar to the English Government to which our fathers 
had been accustomed for many years. In the choice of 
our local officers, our State officers, and members of the 
national House of Representatives we approach closer to 
a democracy, but the approach is by the system of repre- 
sentation. Thus our Government, whether State or na- 
tional, is a representative democracy. 

251. Political Experience. — During the century mis- 
takes have doubtless been made, but the general tendency 
of political affairs has been to promote the welfare of the 
people. 

During the earlier years of our history the Constitution 



148 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

of the United States was the sole guide of our political 
leaders. It was then unincumbered by party interpreta- 
tions and collateral growths. It was the text of an instru- 
ment awaiting interpretation by the will of the people. 
That interpretation has slowly grown with our national 
growth, and as we enter upon the second century of our 
history we possess a political experience which will aid us 
in avoiding many possible dangers of the future. 

252. Equality Before the Law. — In a popular gov- 
ernment, if one citizen suffers unjustly the rights of all are 
endangered. Equality before the law is the inborn right 
of every American citizen. Any element in our national 
life which endangers that fundamental right endangers our 
whole frame of government. The principal object of any 
organized government is to secure to the citizen his rights, 
to protect them, and so to constitute the public mind that 
nothing less than complete security and perfect protection 
will satisfy the conscience of the nation. All political 
combinations, all rings and monopolies, all corporations 
and social arrangements, which endanger the equal rights 
of each citizen before the law, must be torn up by the roots 
and cast away. 

253. Origin of Political Parties. — On public ques- 
tions, however, all men do not and cannot think alike. 
The very function of government is always in dispute. 
Shall the Federal Government be extended so as to include 
practically all local government under the excuse of pro- 
moting the general welfare? Shall the Federal Govern- 
ment limit itself wholly to administrative duties, attempting 
nothing for the individual citizen, but leaving his interests 
entirely to the care of the State? Shall the Federal Gov- 
ernment be made paternal in its relations to the people ? 
On these fundamental questions the people have widely 
differed. Political parties have sprung up among them, 
and have at last become so characteristic of popular gov- 
ernment in this country that it is practically impossible 



THE PEOPLE IN POLITICS. 149 

to conduct our Government without the intervention of 
them. A political party is an organized body of men act- 
ing together to accomplish certain results in matters of 
government.* 

254. Contrasts and Comparisons. — When Washing- 
ton was first chosen President political parties did not 
exist in the country, but they began during his second 
term. Then, and for nearly a quarter of a century after, 
political parties were local rather than national in charac- 
ter. The means for intercommunication were so imperfect 
that it was impossible for men living in distant parts of 
the country to organize and to transact political business 
with harmony and dispatch. Political parties have become 
organized forces in this country just as the means for com- 
munication between different parts of the country have 
been perfected. The age of post-horses gave way to the 
age of coaches; coaches were displaced by canals, and 
canals by railroads and telegraphs. When Hamilton was 
the leader of the Federal party in 1800, it took three 
months to carry his views to men of the same mind in 
distant Georgia, so difficult was the journey from New 
York to Savannah. To-day, the views of a national com- 
mittee in New York are known in a few minutes in Gal- 
veston or in San Francisco. In Hamilton's day only the 
leaders participated in politics ; the majority of men were 
disqualified by poverty or deterred by lack of interest 
from voting. The electors then voted viva voce, except in 
a few States which, like Massachusetts, had introduced 
the ballot. Now the vise of the ballot is universal, religious 
and property qualifications have disappeared, and a man 
has the right to vote because he is a man. 

255. The Organization of Political Parties. — With 
the more perfect means of communication of ideas in the 
land, political parties have become more perfectly organ- 

*See1[73, p. 44. 



150 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

ized, until the perfection of party organization has occa- 
sioned the use of the word " machine " as descriptive of 
party methods. Each party is ruled by its committees, 
which begin in the township, the ward and the town. The 
ward committee sends a delegate to the convention of 
ward committees, and the city or county committee is 
chosen by the convention. County and city committees 
send delegates to State conventions, and State committees 
are chosen. The State committees are instrumental in 
choosing the greatest committee of all, the national com- 
mittee, which usually directs a Presidential campaign, 
disburses the party funds, distributes the party speakers, 
and assists the various State committees whenever it is 
necessary. The work of the party machine is so concealed 
from public attention that even in the midst of a campaign 
it is scarcely detected. So strong is the power of a polit- 
ical party that it sometimes invades individual rights and 
attempts to dictate how individuals shall vote. Individual 
duty and party obligations sometimes conflict ; the only 
safe guide for the individual is his conscience. 

256. Party Influences. — Political parties have become 
mighty forces amongst us. They have grown with our 
growth as a people ; they support influential newspapers ; 
they print millions of political pamphlets and scatter them 
over the land. Books, magazines, public addresses on all 
phases of public questions, keep the people familiar with 
the various views of the leading minds of the country. 
Steam, electricity, industrial and commercial interests, 
bring the people into close political relations. It follows 
that the people divide into two great parties, which are 
to-day so closely balanced that the change of a thousand 
votes in a doubtful State may decide the result in a Presi- 
dential election. A small popular majority in a national 
election is evidence that the people are so equally divided 
in sentiment that they are about as willing to trust one 
party with power as the other. Political parties in the 



THE PEOPLE IN POLITICS. 151 

days of their strength have been moderate in the United 
States. President Hayes became President by a majority 
of one vote in the electoral college, yet there was no at- 
tempt to prevent his peaceful inauguration into office. It 
is doubtful whether in a similar case during the first sixty 
years of our history the opposing party would have al- 
lowed a President to be inducted into office. 

257. Americans Conservative. — The reason for the 
change in public sentiment is found in the growth of the 
spirit of conservatism in the United States. We are a 
conservative people, although foreign observers do not 
always detect that element in our national character. 
Since President Jackson's administration the Government 
of the United States has become more democratic, the 
popular vote has reached its full strength, and the people 
participate closely in the determination of all important 
political issues. American conservatism is plainly seen 
in the respect for the law which is so characteristic of the 
people. Although a law may be bad, the people act on 
the principle that the best way to get rid of a bad law is 
to enforce it. 

258. Political Issues.— The numerous public ques- 
tions on which at various times the people have divided 
have taken significance from their intrinsic nature or from 
the times and circumstances under which they have arisen. 
The settlement of some of these issues has decided the 
character of the nation. Of these issues the most import- 
ant were — the Assumption of the Revolutionary debt, the 
National Banking System, Internal Improvements, the 
Acquisition of Territory, Commercial Rights on the High 
Seas and the Payment of the National Debt. 

National issues usually become State issues as well, be- 
cause an elector in the United States is usually a party- 
man even in local politics ; he supports his party candidate 
for school director with as much zeal as he supports his 
party candidate for Congress. On political issues political 



152 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

parties have not always maintained opposite doctrines. 
One party may favor internal improvements under one 
system, the other party favor it under another. 

259. Platforms and Planks. — Each party usually for- 
mulates its opinions somewhat loosely in a series of res- 
olutions called a " platform," passed by a party political 
convention. Each resolution is called a " plank." Party 
platforms do not always state the full intentions of the 
party, but every member of the party understands or 
claims to understand them. The campaign opens, the 
appeal is made to the people, the ballots are cast and 
counted ; the issue is settled until another election may 
again bring it forward for popular decision. The victori- 
ous party is the organ chosen by the people by which to 
administer the Government for a limited time. 

260. Politics and the Constitution. — Foreigners who 
study our Government are apt to construe all our politics 
by our written constitutions, forgetting that our party pol- 
itics take up questions which we consider entirely outside 
of the Constitution. The Constitution says nothing about 
a tariff, although it mentions " taxes, duties, imposts and 
excises." A tariff bill is a revenue bill, and the principal 
issue between the two great parties in 1892 w T as simply a 
question of Government revenue. The question then was 
not, " Shall the Government have a revenue?" but, " How 
shall the revenue be raised?" The constitutionality of a 
tariff was settled during the first Congress; the expediency 
of a tariff or how much tariff or on what articles may 
become a question at any national election. 

261. Function of Parties. — By means of political 
parties the people become closely familiar with the admin- 
istration of their Government. They become acquainted 
with its wants, its scope and its character. They see that 
the Government is the will of the majority expressed by 
the administration in power. If the party in power makes 
bad use of the trust imposed upon it, it is turned out of 



THE PEOPLE IN POLITICS. 153 

office at the next election and the people try the other 
party. The responsibility to the people of the party con- 
ducting the Government is direct, and is felt in the daily 
life of each citizen. If my letters go wrong, I complain to 
the postmaster; if they continue to go wrong, I complain 
to the Postmaster-General. I blame the party in power 
represented by the President, and to the best of my ability 
I use my influence to prevent the continuation of that 
party in power. My reason for opposing that party may 
be utter folly to another man, but if my reason can be 
formulated in a party principle, I usually find many of 
my fellow-citizens who agree with me. If I doubt the 
wisdom of the party's action in Congress, I vote against 
that party when an election occurs. Thus it follows that 
I as a private citizen, joining with other private citizens, 
may change the administration. 

A government like our own, based upon a free people 
acting through political parties constituted and organized 
out of its own body, is a government in which its whole 
responsibility rests upon the citizen. I am responsible 
with my fellow-citizens for the political condition of affairs ; 
I, a private citizen, exercising my rights and performing 
my duties, with the aid of my fellow-citizens, determine 
the life and character of the Government of which I am a 
constituent part. 

262. Political Reforms. — The people have not always 
taken the lead in great reforms. Too often the masses are 
slow to detect the tendency of affairs and the necessities 
of the times. Leaders have then come forward ; evil after 
evil has been exposed and attacked ; the people have lis- 
tened, have thought, and at last have acted. Then the 
party of reform becomes the party administering the Gov- 
ernment, and the nation reaches a loftier moral height than 
before. And it has happened that a party has changed its 
opinions, and after many years has become the defender 
of views which it opposed when first presented. Political 



154 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

parties in this country are a correct indication of the pub- 
lic mind. 

263. Mobs and Courtesies. — With the changes in the 
social, industrial and moral life of the people a change has 
occurred in their political life. In early days the members 
of different political parties wore badges and hats and 
ribbons as party-marks. Political differences then were 
occasion for constant broils between individuals, and even 
the cause of fatal duels, as in the case of Hamilton. Mem- 
bers of different political parties then were disrespectful to 
each other in the street, lampooned each other through the 
newspapers, attacked each other's political headquarters 
and wantonly destroyed each other's property. Party 
rancor invaded the courts of justice and animated the 
judges against political offenders because of party opin- 
ions. The press was violent in its tone, and political 
pamphlets of an abusive nature were issued. The masses 
were ignorant, passionate and easily aroused. Political 
processions were common occasions for serious riots ; the 
polling-place was too often the scene of disorder. But 
with the increase of knowledge among the people political 
life has changed. No longer are riot and abuse and vio- 
lence and judicial partisanship found. The whole feeling 
and thought of the people have been modified. In the 
city of Philadelphia, during a recent Presidential cam- 
paign, a Democratic procession accidentally came in contact 
with a Republican procession. On the same spot, nearly 
a century ago, Federalists and Anti-federalists had met in 
a bloody riot during the excitement of a Presidential cam- 
paign; but now with orderly presence and with hearty 
cheers the men in the Republican lines saluted their fel- 
low-citizens of the opposite party, and opened their lines 
to allow them to pass ; and the salute was returned with 
generous courtesy by the men in the Democratic lines. 
It is a mistake to think that politics are worse to-day than 
in the days of our fathers ; the politics of to-day are purer, 



THE PEOPLE IN POLITICS. 155 

cleaner and better than the politics of the early days of 
the Republic. With the liberalization of ideas has come 
a liberalization of politics ; not yet perfectly, for there is 
yet much in our politics that needs reform. Upon the 
individual citizen rests the responsibility of purity in elec- 
tions, purity in party politics and honesty in the admin- 
istration of government. 

264. Liberty Enlightening the World. — In the har- 
bor of the city of New York may be seen the statue of 
" Liberty Enlightening the World," a splendid gift from 
the people of France to the people of the United States. 
At night the uplifted torch, held high for the guidance of 
vessels, casts its friendly light for many leagues far out to 
sea. Typical of the friendship of two powerful nations of 
modern times, it is typical also of that sublime aspiration 
now so universal in the world, the love of liberty. Stand- 
ing in the highway of the world's commerce, it suggests 
the spirit which controls the worldwide interests of the 
people of the United States and the interests of the other 
civilized nations of modern times. One touch of human 
brotherhood makes the world akin ; one simple w r ord of 
English speech signifies the sublime purpose of the foun- 
dation of popular government in this Western World. 
Faithful to the traditions of the past, mindful of the teach- 
ings of our fathers, keenly vigilant to the dangers that 
beset us, conservative in our thoughts and in our ways, 
faithful to each other, to ourselves and to God, we, the 
people of the United States, may transmit to our posterity 
a Government which shall continue to the latest day of the 
children of men. 








'LIBERTY ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD/ 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE NATION. 

265. The Elements of the Nation are the People and 
the Land. The Nation has human nature for its founda- 
tion — men in political, industrial, moral and social asso- 
ciation. The Nation is a moral organic whole, not a 
confederation of individuals as a heap of sand is an 
accumulation of individual grains. The Nation is distinct 
from a mob, a party, a faction, or an association of indi- 
viduals. It is distinct from the offices required for the 
formal expression of its government. It is distinct from 
its constitutions and its treaties. It is the people, not 
merely as enumerated in the census, but as a moral unity. 
One race, one land, one law, make a Nation. 

266. The Nation Different from the State.— The 
State is a political division of the Nation : it is a part of 
the whole political life of the people. Each State has 
local interests equal in importance with those of other 
States, but limited chiefly to the people of that State. 
The interests of the Nation are unrestricted by State 
boundaries, and are comprehensive. The rights of the 
Nation are true of all its citizens, the political people; 
the rights of the State are true strictly of the people who 
comprise that State. Therefore the Nation has a broader 
foundation than the State, because its rights are the most 
comprehensive rights of the people. The sovereignty of 
the State is local .; the sovereignty of the Nation is general. 
There need be no collision of these two authorities : each 
of them is an expression of the will of the people. The 
two sovereignties are two expressions of the association of 

157 



158 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

rights and interests. Nor are these interests of State and 
of Nation far remote from each other ; they unite in the 
citizen. As a citizen of a State I am interested in things 
immediately near me ; I am interested in the choice of 
local officers, in the honesty of the assessor of taxes and 
in his sound judgment; in the construction of strong 
bridges and durable roads in the township in which I live ; 
or, if I live in a city, I am interested in having an abun- 
dance of pure water, in having clean streets and sanitary 
drainage, in the protection of property from fire and flood, 
and in many other local matters. 

As a citizen of the Nation I am interested in the general 
welfare of the whole land; in the policy of the Federal 
Government ; in the survey of the public domain ; in the 
uniformity of the currency, in banking operations, in 
postal facilities, and in the political rights of all citizens 
of the United States. I am interested in our relations 
with foreign nations, as in trade, commerce, social inter- 
course, the peace of nations and the civilization of man. 

As a citizen of the State I am bound by local ties ; as a 
citizen of the Nation I partake of one of the highest of 
sovereignties and am one of a company of sovereigns. 
This national sovereignty becomes of highest concern to 
us as Americans, because it is founded upon free men; 
it exists by the consent and with the constant aid of a free 
people. The Nation thus becomes a personality moving 
in a larger field than the State. It becomes the embodi- 
ment of rights, of freedom, of law, of individuality, of the 
family, of morality. 

267. The Sovereignty of the Nation. — The Nation 
alone is sovereign. Its will is expressed from time to time 
by its chosen representatives acting together in convention. 
The Nation is older than the written Constitution. As a 
sovereign it determines for itself its aim and its object in 
history. It declares its will and embodies its spirit in its 
institutions. Its sovereign rights are those of self-preserva- 



THE NATION. 159 

tion, the power to declare war and to conclude peace, to 
enter into treaties with other nations, to coin money and 
to exercise the right of eminent domain. No powers can 
be greater than these. They identify the Nation as a con- 
scious moral being. As a sovereign the Nation enters into 
relations with other nations by treaty. A treaty thus 
made becomes a part of the supreme law of the land. 
International law is thus made possible by the comity of 
nations, and individuals may partake of the benefits thus 
conferred by solemn agreements between the sovereigns. 

268. The Nation and the Citizen. — The existence of 
the citizen is necessary to the existence of the Nation, and 
the Nation is necessary to the existence of the citizen. The 
Nation is not apart from the citizen ; he is in and of the 
Nation. In it and through it he realizes his rights and is 
protected in them. The individual is a moral person; so 
is the Nation. Each has a law peculiar to its own being. 
Both have an origin by the will of God, and each moves 
in the world as a moral power. Society is thus composed 
of moral elements ; " Man is born a citizen." The citizen 
has his own destiny to work out consistent with the moral 
order of the world. All he can realize is made possible to 
him by his own nature, and he is responsible for the exer- 
cise of his own powers. When every citizen, conscious of 
his industrial, his political, his social and his moral respon- 
sibilities, lives consistent with the laws of his moral nature, 
then, and not till then, has the Nation its full strength and 
the citizen a realization of a complete life. The Nation 
complements the moral activities of the citizen, and insti- 
tutes and maintains for his benefit a field for his reason- 
able activities and his moral development. The Nation is 
thus bound to educate the citizen harmoniously, offering 
him opportunities for industrial, political, social and moral 
training. It has as a constant function the placing within 
his reach the realization of his loftiest hopes and his moral 
purposes, and to exalt his manhood and ennoble human 



160 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

life with human sympathy and brotherly affection. The 
majesty of law, the authority of Government, the solemn 
declarations of treaties and constitutions, gather like a bene- 
diction on the sacredness of the family and the home. 

269. The Foes of the Nation are those who would 
resolve it into selfish, warring, individual elements, and 
those who would raise the arbitrary will of an individual 
into supremacy. One would disintegrate the Nation ; the 
other would change it into a monarchy ; one is destructive 
of the moral unity of the Nation; the other destroys the 
freedom of the people.* 



* Communism, Socialism, Nihilism and Anarchism are elements of 
danger to the Nation. 

Communism seeks social perfection in a putting in common of 
persons and of things; it destroys the family and private property. It 
attacks the foundations of modern society. 

Socialism seeks to modify all existing laws, manners, customs and 
guarantees of person and of property, and to reorganize society entirely 
upon a different basis. The reforms suggested by Socialists have been 
dictated by every fancy, and usually have been destructive of all civil 
government. Socialism is government by a committee, and all Socialists 
wish to be on the committee. 

Nihilism, as the name signifies, is the negation of all government. 
It seeks to overthrow all existing civil government by assassination, 
dynamite bombs or revolutionary measures of any kind. Nihilism is 
the organization of revolt against the autocracy and enthroned selfish- 
ness of absolute monarchy. The political exiles in Siberia are princi- 
pally Nihilists. Anarchism and Nihilism are practically the same 
forms of lawlessness. 

Societies and individuals holding and teaching ideas destructive to 
the welfare of our country have within recent years caused riot and 
bloodshed in several of our great cities. Without doubt, the people of 
the United States harbor foreigners who hold political ideas wholly at 
war with those which lie at the foundation of our free Government. 
It is the duty of every American citizen to know his rights and to per- 
form his duties ; to understand the privileges of his own government ; 
to carry out its humane principles ; and to eradicate, by lawful means, 
all influences injurious to the peace and welfare of his native land, 



THE NATION. 161 

270. The Nation the Permanent Element in His- 
tory. — The Nation alone is permanent; it is as old as his- 
tory. Governments are the passing forms of nationality. 
The mission of the Nation on the earth is to enfranchise 
man, to exalt humanity, to realize a divine idea among 
men. God rules in the affairs of men ; he is the God of 
nations also. Centuries pass ; new faces come and go ; 
new voices are heard over the earth ; other hands labor, 
and other men enter into their labors with the glory of 
new duties and the enthusiasm of the exercise of new 
rights. A pure morality, a lofty statesmanship, a sacri- 
ficial devotion among the people to the rights and duties 
of citizenship, alone keep the Nation from decay. Inven- 
tion and discovery ameliorate the condition of men; sci- 
ence and art enlarge the bounds of human knowledge ; but 
the Nation alone as a moral pow T er in the world can carry 
on the work of history. " The Nation is formed as a 
power on the earth. It is invested with pow T er of God ; 
its authority is conveyed through no intermediate hands, 
but is given of God. It is clothed with His majesty on 
the earth." 

271. The National Flag" and Seal. — The symbol of 
the Nation is the flag; the evidence of the authenticity of 
its decrees is the great seal. To an American the flag of 
his country is an object of veneration ; to the people of 
other lands it is the symbol of liberty, union, peace, hap- 
piness and prosperity. Wherever the flag floats the voice 
of the Nation is heard, and the imprint of the great seal is 
the solemn proof of its message. The honor of the Nation 
is the honor of its flag. 

272. The People of the United States.— To the peo- 
ple of the United States are entrusted the sacred interests 
of government. Each citizen is the keeper in trust of the 
happiness of himself and of those who will come after 
him. The people are the Nation, and they are to work out 
on earth the realization of human rights, industrially, 

li 



162 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

politically, socially and morally. As the Nation is the 
power that alone realizes the ends and purposes of govern- 
ment, it is by understanding the Nation that we learn the 
rights and duties of American citizenship. It is for the 
nations of moderm times to realize the hopes of human- 
ity, to be the answ T er to the prayers of the ages. Popular 
government is the great experiment of history. The voy- 
age is already begun. We cannot turn back. We are one 
of an argosy of nations moving toward the freedom of 
humanity. 



"Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! 

Sail on, O Union strong and great ! 
Humanity, with all its fears, 
With all the hopes of future years, 

Is hanging breathless on thy fate ! 
We know what Master laid thy keel, 
What workmen wrought thy ribs of steel, 

Who made each mast, and sail and rope, 
What anvils rang, what hammers beat, 
In what a forge and what a heat 

Were shaped the anchors of thy hope. 

" Fear not each sudden sound and shock : 

7 Tis of the wave, and not the rock; 

'Tis but the flapping of the sail, 

And not a rent made by the gale. 

In spite of rock and tempest roar, 

In spite of false lights on the shore, 

Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea. 

Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee : 

Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears, 
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears, 

Are all with thee— are all with thee." 




Part IV. 



o*Ko 



STATE PAPERS. 



"A lawyer lecturing on the Constitution of the 
United States would necessarily start from the Con- 
stitution itself. But he ivould soon see that the arti- 
cles of the Constitution required a knowledge of 
the Articles of Confederation ; that the opinions of 
Washington, of Hamilton, and generally of the 
'Fathers? as one sometimes hears them called in 
America, threw light on the meaning of various 
constitutional articles. " —Dicey. 

".The Government of the People of the United States 
can be best understood by examining, at first hand, 
the institutions and the constitutions of the Amer- 
ican people. Every American citizen has the ines- 
timable and peculiar privilege of examining for 
himself the sources of the Government under which 
he lives. 'It is only religion and morals and know- 
ledge that can make men respectable and happy 
under any form of government.' " — Webster. 

163 



STATE PAPERS. 

THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT, 1620.* 

In the name of God, Amen ; We, whose names are 
underwritten, the loyall subjects of our dread soveraigne 
King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britaine 

* Among the Pilgrims were some lawless adventurers who thought 
that as soon as they came ashore they could do as they pleased, and 
that no one would have power to restrain them, because the patent 
under which the Pilgrims came was for Virginia, not for New England, 
which was governed by another company. But the men who made the 
Mayflower compact embodied the best tendencies and traditions of Eng- 
lish government, and now, tried by the demands of a primitive state of 
society, were equal to them. Although the king's government was far 
away, the law-abiding men among the colonists at once associated them- 
selves together under a form of government based upon the popular 
will, and lawlessness was quickly restrained or punished. The first 
American constitution was then made. 

" That wild fellow, John Billington, and others from London have 
been obliged to behave themselves on shipboard ; but, now that they 
are about to land, declare that they will do as they please. John Car- 
ver will have no authority on shore ; they will be in the king's domain, 
and John Carver holds no commission from the king, nor have the 
Pilgrims any charter. The Pilgrims will see about that. They are 
men who respect law and order, and intend to have order in their com- 
munity. It is their right — not derived from the king, but a natural 
right. In the cabin of the ship they sign their names to a solemn cov- 
enant." — Coffin. 

"This instrument was signed by the whole body of men, forty-one in 
number, who, with their families, constituted the one hundred and two, 
the whole colony, ' the proper democracy ' that arrived in New Eng- 
land. Here was the birth of popular constitutional liberty. In the 
cabin of the Mayflower humanity recovered its rights, and instituted 
government on the basis of 'equal laws' enacted by all the people for 
the general good." — Bancroft. 
164 



THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT. 165 

France, and Ireland King, defender of the faith, etc., 
haveing undertaken, for the glorie of God, and advance- 
mente of the Christian faith and honor of our king and 
countrie, a voyage to plant the first colonie in the North- 
erne parts of Virginia, doe, by these presents, solemnly 
and mutually, in the presence of God, and one of another, 
covenant and combine ourselves together into a civill 
body politick, for our better ordering and preservation 
and furtherance of the ends aforesaid ; and, by vertue 
heareof, to enacte, constitute, and frame, such just and 
equall laws, ordenances, acts, constitutions and offices, 
from time to time, as shall be thought most meete and 
convenient for the generall good of the Colonie. Unto 
which we promise all due submission and obedience. In 
witnes whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names, 
at Cap Codd, the nth of November, in the year of the 
raigne of our sovereigne lord, King James, of England, 
France, and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the 
fifty-fourth, Anno Domini, 1620. 



THE FIRST DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.* 

Resolves of the Convention of the English Colonies at New 
York, October 19, 1765. 

The Congress, upon mature deliberation, agreed to the 
following declarations of the rights and grievances of the 
colonists in America : 

The members of this congress, sincerely devoted, with 
the warmest sentiments of affection and duty, to His 
Majesty's person and government, inviolably attached 
to the present happy establishment of the Protestant 
succession, and with minds deeply impressed by a sense 
of the present and impending misfortunes of the British 
colonies on this continent ; having considered as ma- 
turely as time will permit, the circumstances of the said 
colonies, esteem it our indispensable duty to make the 
following declarations of our humble opinion respecting 
the most essential rights and liberties of the colonists 
and of the grievances under which they labor by reason 
of the several late acts of Parliament. 

* From 1620 to 1765 the people of the colonies increased rapidly in 
numbers and in wealth. Their own interests and their relations with 
the mother-country became more complex. The English Government 
trespassed repeatedly upon the natural and the constitutional rights of 
the Americans, until, at the suggestion of the Massachusetts legislature, 
a congress of representatives from nine of the colonies met at the City- 
hall, New York, October 7, 1765, by whom a Declaration of Eights, 
setting forth the liberties of the colonies, was issued. The people were 
still loyal subjects of the Crown. They were a conservative people, 
proud of their traditions and calmly asserting their ancient and undoubted 
rights. The declaration was the dignified appeal of a liberty-loving 
people to the king, that he should protect them in their rights. 
166 



THE FIRST DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 167 

1. That His Majesty's subjects in these colonies, owe 
the same allegiance to the crown of Great Britain, that is 
owing from his subjects born within the realm ; and all 
due subordination to that august body, the Parliament 
of Great Britain. 

2. That His Majesty's liege subjects, in these colonies, 
are entitled to all the inherent rights and liberties of 
his natural-born subjects within the kingdom of Great 
Britain. 

3. That it is inseparably essential to the freedom of 
a people, and the undoubted right of Englishmen, that 
no taxes be imposed on them but with their own con- 
sent, given personally, or by their representatives. 

4. That the people of these colonies are not, and from 
their local circumstances cannot be, represented in the 
House of Commons, in Great Britain. 

5. That the only representatives of the people of these 
colonies, are persons chosen therein by themselves ; and 
that no taxes ever have been, or can be constitutionally 
imposed on them, but by their respective legislatures. 

6. That all supplies to the Crown, being the free gifts 
of the people, it is unreasonable and inconsistent with 
the principles and spirit of the British constitution, for 
the people of Great Britain to grant to His Majesty, the 
property of the colonists. 

7. That trial by jury is the inherent and invaluable 
right of every British subject in these colonies. 

8. That the late act of Parliament, entitled "An act 
for granting and applying certain stamp duties, and 
other duties in the British colonies and plantations, in 
America, etc." by imposing taxes on the inhabitants of 
these colonies, and the said act, and several other acts, by 
extending the jurisdiction of the courts of admiralty be- 



168 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

yond its ancient limits, have a manifest tendency to sub* 
vert the rights and liberties of the colonists. 

9. That the duties imposed by several late acts of Par- 
liament, from the peculiar circumstances of these col- 
onies, will be extremely burthensome and grievous, and 
from the scarcity of specie, the payment of them abso- 
lutely impracticable. 

10. That as the profits of the trade of these colonies 
ultimately centre in Great Britain, to pay for the manu- 
factures which they are obliged to take from thence, they 
eventually contribute very largely to all supplies granted 
there to the Crown. 

11. That the restrictions imposed by several late acts 
of Parliament on the trade of these colonies, will render 
them unable to purchase the manufactures of Great 
Britain. 

12. That the increase, prosperity, and happiness of 
these colonies depend on the full and free enjoyments of 
their rights and liberties, and an intercourse with Great 
Britain, mutually affectionate and advantageous. 

13. That it is the right of the British subjects in these 
colonies to petition the King, or either house of Parlia- 
ment. 

Lastly, That it is the indispensable duty of these col- 
onies, to the best of sovereigns, to the mother country, 
and to themselves, to endeavor by a loyal and dutiful 
address to His Majesty, and humble applications to both 
houses of Parliament, to procure the repeal of the act 
for granting and applying certain stamp duties, of all 
clauses of any other acts of Parliament, whereby the 
jurisdiction of the admiralty is extended, as aforesaid, 
and of the other late acts for the restriction of American 
commerce. 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE— 

1776.* 

In Congress, July 4, 1776. 

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States 
of America. 

When in the Course of human events, it becomes 
necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands 
which have connected them with another, and to assume 
among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal 
station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God 
entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind 
requires that they should declare the causes which impel 
them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men 
are created equal, that they are endowed by their Crea- 
tor with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are 
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to 
secure these rights, Governments are instituted among 
Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the 
governed, That whenever any Form of Government be- 

* The Declaration of Eights was unheeded by the king ; the liberties 
of the people were set at naught by the British Parliament ; and the 
Americans were forced, in self-preservation, "to assume among the 
powers of the earth" the character and position of an independent 
nation. The conservative character of the people was again illustrated 
in the calm and dignified spirit of the great state paper which was issued 
to the world. It was the formal declaration of political opinions long 
current in America, and constitutes the first national paper in our his- 
tory. By its promulgation popular government on a grand scale began. 
The people of the colonies declared themselves a new nation. 

169 



170 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

comes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the 
People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Gov- 
ernment, laying its foundation on such principles and 
organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall 
seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. 
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long 
established should not be changed for light and transient 
causes ; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that 
mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are suf- 
ferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms 
to which they are accustomed. But when a long train 
of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same 
Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute 
Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off 
such Government, and to provide new Guards for their 
future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance 
of these Colonies ; and such is now the necessity which 
constrains them to alter their former Systems of Govern- 
ment. The history of the present King of Great Britain 
is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all 
having in direct object the establishment of an absolute 
Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be 
submitted to a candid world. 

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most whole- 
some and necessary for the public good. 

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of im- 
mediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in 
their operation till his Assent should be obtained ; and 
when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend 
to them. 

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommo- 
dation of large districts of people, unless those people 
would relinquish the right of Representation in the Leg- 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 171 

islature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to 
tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places un- 
usual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of 
their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing 
them into compliance with his measures. 

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, 
for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the 
rights of the people. 

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions 
to cause others to be elected ; whereby the Legislative 
Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the 
People at large for their exercise ; the State remaining in 
the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion 
from without, and convulsions within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these 
States ; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Nat- 
uralization of Foreigners ; refusing to pass others to en- 
courage their migration hither, and raising the conditions 
of new Appropriations of Lands. 

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by 
refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary 
Powers. 

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for 
the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment 
of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent 
hither swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat 
out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing 
Armies without the Consent of our legislature. 

He has affected to render the Military independent of 
and superior to the Civil Power. 



172 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a juris- 
diction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged 
by our Laws ; giving his Assent to their Acts of pre- 
tended Legislation : 

For quartering large bodies of armed men among us : 

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punish- 
ment for any Murders which they should commit on the 
Inhabitants of these States : 

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world : 

For imposing taxes on us without our Consent : 

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial 
by Jury : 

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pre- 
tended offences : 

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a 
neighboring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary 
government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to ren- 
der it at once an example and fit instrument for intro- 
ducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies : 

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most 
valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of 
our Governments : 

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring 
themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all 
cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us 
out of his Protection and waging War against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt 
our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign 
mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation 
and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cru- 
elty, and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbar- 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 173 

ous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized 
nation. 

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive 
on the high Seas to bear arms against their Country, to 
become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, 
or to fall themselves by their Hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, 
and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our 
frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known 
rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all 
ages, sexes and conditions. 

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Peti- 
tioned for Redress in the most humble terms : Our 
repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated 
injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by 
every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the 
ruler of a free People. 

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British 
brethren. We have warned them from time to time of 
attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable 
jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the 
circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. 
We have appealed to their native justice and magnan- 
imity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our 
common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which 
would inevitably interrupt our connections and corre^ 
spondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of 
justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, ac- 
quiesce in the necessity which denounces our Separation, 
and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies 
in War, in Peace Friends. 

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States 
of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing 



174 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

to the Supreme Judge of the world for the fectitude of 
our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of 
the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and 
declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right 
ought to be Free and Independent States ; that they are 
Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and 
that all political connection between them and the State 
of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved: and 
that as Free and Independent States, they have full 
Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, 
establish Commerce, and do all other Acts and Things 
which Independent States may of right do. And for the 
support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the 
Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge 
to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred 
Honor. 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION— 1777.* 

To all to whom these Presents shall come, we the under- 
signed Delegates of the States affixed to our Names , send 
greeting. 

Whereas the Delegates of the United States of Amer- 
ica in Congress assembled did on the fifteenth day of 
November in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven 
Hundred and Seventy-seven, and in the Second Year of 
the Independence of America agree to certain articles of 
Confederation and perpetual Union between the States 
of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and 
Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, 
North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia in the 
words following, viz. 

"Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union between 
the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay ', Rhode 
Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New 
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, 
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. 

Article I. The style of this confederacy shall be "The 
United States of America." 

* The Declaration of Independence was the prelude to a preliminary- 
national constitution, The Articles of Confederation. Some provis- 
ion for a general government was recognized as necessary. Obeying 
the lessons of their own experience of two centuries aud a half of 
local government, the representatives of the people, in Congress assem- 
bled, adopted a constitution for the Confederation of States which the 
colonies had become. The Articles of Confederation constitute our first 
effort to form a " perpetual Union." 

175 



176 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

Article II. Each State retains its sovereignty, free- 
dom and independence, and every power, jurisdiction 
and right, which is not by this confederation expressly 
delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled. 

Article III. The said States hereby severally enter 
into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their 
common defence, the security of their liberties, and their 
mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist 
each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made 
upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sov- 
eignty, trade, or any other pretence whatever. 

Article IV. The better to secure and perpetuate 
mutual friendship and intercourse among the people of 
the different States in this Union, the free inhabitants of 
each of these States, paupers, vagabonds and fugitives 
from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges 
and immunities of free citizens in the several States ; and 
the people of each State shall have free ingress and re- 
gress to and from any other State, and shall enjoy therein 
all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the 
same duties, impositions and restrictions as the inhabit- 
ants thereof respectively, provided that such restrictions 
shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of 
property imported into any State, to any other State 
of which the owner is an inhabitant ; provided also that 
no imposition, duties or restriction shall be laid by any 
State on the property of the United States, or either 
of them. 

If any person guilty of, or charged with treason, fel- 
ony, or other high misdemeanor in any State, shall flee 
from justice, and be found in any of the United States, 
he shall upon demand of the Governor or Executive 
power, of the State from which he fled, be delivered up 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 177 

and removed to the State having jurisdiction of his 
offence. 

Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these 
States to the records, acts and judicial proceedings of 
the courts and magistrates of every other State. 

Article V. For the more convenient management 
of the general interests of the United States, delegates 
shall be annually appointed in such manner as the legis- 
lature of each State shall direct, to meet in Congress on 
the first Monday in November, in every year, with a 
power reserved to each State, to recall its delegates, or 
any of them, at any time within the year, and to send 
others in their stead, for the remainder of the year. 

No State shall be represented in Congress by less than 
two, nor by more than seven members ; and no person 
shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three 
years in any term of six years; nor shall any person, 
being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under 
the United States, for which he, or another for his bene- 
fit receives any salary, fees or emolument of any kind. 

Each State shall maintain its own delegates in a meet- 
ing of the States, and while they act as members of the 
committee of the States. 

In determining questions in the United States, in Con- 
gress assembled, each State shall have one vote. 

Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not 
be impeached or questioned in any court, or place out 
of Congress, and the members of Congress shall be pro- 
tected in their persons from arrests and imprisonments, 
during the time of their going to and from, and attend- 
ance on Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach 
of the peace. 

Article VI. No State without the consent of the 
12 



178 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

United States in Congress assembled, shall send any 
embassy to, or receive any embassy from, or enter into 
any conference, agreement, alliance or treaty with any 
king, prince or state ; nor shall any person holding any 
office of profit or trust under the United States, or any of 
them, accept of any present, emolument, office or title 
of any kind whatever from any king, prince or foreign 
state ; nor shall the United States in Congress assem- 
bled, or any of them, grant any title of nobility. 

No two or more States shall enter into any treaty, 
confederation or alliance whatever between them, with- 
out the consent of the United States in Congress assem- 
bled, specifying accurately the purposes for which the 
same is to be entered into, and how long it shall con- 
tinue. 

No State shall lay any imposts or duties, which may 
interfere with any stipulations in treaties, entered into 
by the United States in Congress assembled, with any 
king, prince or state, in pursuance of any treaties al- 
ready proposed by Congress, to the courts of France 
and Spain. 

No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace by 
any State, except such number only, as shall be deemed 
necessary by the United States in Congress assembled, 
for the defence of such State, or its trade; nor shall any 
body of forces be kept up by any State, in time of peace, 
except such number only, as in the judgment of the 
United States, in Congress assembled, shall be deemed 
requisite to garrison the forts necessary for the defence 
of such State ; but every State shall always keep up a 
well regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed 
and accoutred, and shall provide and constantly have 
ready for use, in public stores, a due number of field 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 179 

pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammu- 
nition and camp equipage. 

No State shall engage in any war without the consent 
of the United States in Congress assembled, unless such 
State be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have re- 
ceived certain advice of a resolution being formed by 
some nation of Indians to invade such State, and the 
danger is so imminent as not to admit of a delay, till the 
United States in Congress assembled can be consulted : 
nor shall any State grant commissions to any ships or 
vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except 
it be after a declaration of war by the United States in 
Congress assembled, and then only against the kingdom 
or state and the subjects thereof, against which war has 
been so declared, and under such regulations as shall be 
established by the United States in Congress assembled, 
unless such State be infested by pirates, in which case 
vessels of war may be fitted out for that occasion, and 
kept so long as the danger shall continue, or until the 
United States in Congress assembled shall determine 
otherwise. 

Article VII. When land-forces are raised by any 
State for the common defence, all officers of or under 
the rank of colonel, shall be appointed by the Legisla- 
ture of each State respectively by whom such forces 
shall be raised, or in such manner as such State shall 
direct, and all vacancies shall be filled up by the State 
which first made the appointment. 

Article VIII. All charges of war, and all other ex- 
penses that shall be incurred for the common defence 
or general welfare, and allowed by the United States in 
Congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common 
treasury, which shall be supplied by the several States, 



180 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

in proportion to the value of all land within each State, 
granted to or surveyed for any person, as such land and 
the buildings and improvements thereon shall be esti- 
mated according to such mode as the United States in 
Congress assembled, shall from time to time direct and 
appoint. 

The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and 
levied by the authority and direction of the Legislatures 
of the several States within the time agreed upon by the 
United States in Congress assembled. 

Article IX. The United States in Congress assem- 
bled, shall have the sole and exclusive right and power 
of determining on peace and war, except in the cases 
mentioned in the sixth article — of sending and receiv- 
ing ambassadors — entering into treaties and alliances, 
provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made 
whereby the legislative power of the respective States 
shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and 
duties on foreigners, as their own people are subjected 
to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation 
of any species of goods or commodities whatsoever — of 
establishing rules for deciding in all cases, what captures 
on land or water shall be legal, and in what manner 
prizes taken by land or naval forces in the service of 
the United States shall be divided or appropriated — of 
granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of peace 
— appointing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies 
committed on the high seas and establishing courts for 
receiving and determining finally appeals in all cases of 
captures, provided that no member of Congress shall be 
appointed a judge of any of the said courts. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall also be 
the last resort on appeal in all disputes and differences 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 181 

now subsisting or that hereafter may arise between two 
or more States concerning boundary, jurisdiction or any 
other cause whatever ; w T hich authority shall always be 
exercised in the manner following. Whenever the leg- 
islative or executive authority or lawful agent of any 
State in controversy with another shall present a peti- 
tion to Congress, stating the matter in question and 
praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by 
order of Congress to the legislative or executive author- 
ity of the other State in controversy, and a day assigned 
for the appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, 
who shall then be directed to appoint by joint consent, 
commissioners or judges to constitute a court for hear- 
ing and determining the matter in question : but if they 
cannot agree, Congress shall name three persons out 
of each of the United States, and from the list of such 
persons each party shall alternately strike out one, the 
petitioners beginning, until the number shall be reduced 
to thirteen ; and from that number not less than seven, 
nor more than nine names as Congress shall direct, shall 
in the presence of Congress be drawn out by lot, and 
the persons whose names shall be so drawn or any five 
of them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and 
finally determine the controversy, so always as a major 
part of the judges who shall hear the cause shall agree 
in the determination : and if either party shall neglect 
to attend at the day appointed, without showing rea- 
sons, which Congress shall judge sufficient, or being 
present shall refuse to strike, the Congress shall proceed 
to nominate three persons out of each State, and the 
Secretary of Congress shall strike in behalf of such 
party absent or refusing; and the judgment and sen- 
tence of the court to be appointed, in the manner 



182 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive ; and if 
any of the parties shall refuse to submit to the author- 
ity of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or 
cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce 
sentence, or judgment, which shall in like manner be 
final and decisive, the judgment or sentence and other 
proceedings being in either case transmitted to Congress, 
and lodged among the acts of Congress for the security 
of the parties concerned : provided that every commis- 
sioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an oath to 
be administered by one of the judges of the supreme or 
superior court of the State where the cause shall be tried, 
"well and truly to hear and determine the matter in 
question, according to the best of his judgment, with- 
out favor, affection or hope of reward :" provided also 
that no State shall be deprived of territory for the bene- 
fit of the United States. 

All controversies concerning the private right of soil 
claimed under different grants of two or more States, 
whose jurisdiction as they may respect such lands, and 
the States which passed such grants are adjusted, the 
said grants or either of them being at the same time 
claimed to have originated antecedent to such settle- 
ment of jurisdiction, shall on the petition of either party 
to the Congress of the United States, be finally deter- 
mined as near as may be in the same manner as is before 
prescribed for deciding disputes respecting territorial 
jurisdiction between different States. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall also 
have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulat- 
ing the alloy and value of coin struck by their own 
authority, or by that of the respective States — fixing 
the standard of weights and measures throughout the 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 183 

United States — regulating the trade and managing all 
affairs with the Indians, not members of any of the 
States, provided that the legislative right of any State 
within its own limits be not infringed or violated — estab- 
lishing and regulating post-offices from one State to 
another, throughout all the United States, and exacting 
such postage on the papers passing thro' the same as 
may be requisite to defray the expenses of the said office 
— appointing all officers of the land forces, in the ser- 
vice of the United States, excepting regimental officers 
— appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and com- 
missioning all officers whatever in the service of the 
United States— making rules for the government and 
regulation of the said land and naval forces, and direct- 
ing their operations. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall have 
authority to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of 
Congress, to be denominated " a Committee of the 
States/' and to consist of one delegate from each State; 
and to appoint such other committees and civil officers 
as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of 
the United States under their direction — to appoint one 
of their number to preside, provided that no person be 
allowed to serve in the office of president more than 
one year in any term of three years ; to ascertain the 
necessary sums of money to be raised for the service 
of the United States, and to appropriate and apply the 
same for defraying the public expenses — to borrow 
money, or emit bills on the credit of the United States, 
transmitting every half year to the respective States an 
account of the sums of money so borrowed or emitted, — 
to build and equip a navy — to agree upon the number of 
land forces, and to make requisitions from each State for 



184 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

its quota, in proportion to the number of white inhabit- 
ants in each State ; which requisition shall be binding, 
and thereupon the Legislature of each State shall appoint 
the regimental officers, raise the men and clothe, arm and 
equip them in a soldier-like manner, at the expense of 
the United States ; and the officers and men so clothed, 
armed and equipped shall march to the place appointed, 
and within the time agreed on by the United States in 
Congress assembled : but if the United States in Congress 
assembled shall, on consideration of circumstances judge 
proper that any State should not raise men, or should 
raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any other 
State should raise a greater number of men than the 
quota thereof, such extra number shall be raised, offi- 
cered, clothed, armed and equipped in the same manner 
as the quota of such State, unless the legislature of such 
State shall judge that such extra number cannot be safely 
spared out of the same, in which case they shall raise ? 
officer, clothe, arm and equip as many of such extra 
number as they judge can be safely spared. And the 
officers and men so clothed, armed and equipped, shall 
march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed 
on by the United States in Congress assembled. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall never 
engage in a war, nor grant letters of marque and reprisal 
in time of peace, nor enter into any treaties or alliances, 
nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, nor ascer- 
tain the sums and expenses necessary for the defence and 
welfare of the United States, or any of them, nor emit 
bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the United 
States, nor appropriate money, nor agree upon the num- 
ber of vessels of war, to be built or purchased, or the 
number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 185 

commander in chief of the army or navy, unless nine 
States assent to the same : nor shall a question on any 
other point, except for adjourning from day to day be 
determined, unless by the votes of a majority of the 
United States in Congress assembled. 

The Congress of the United States shall have power 
to adjourn to any time within the year, and to any place 
within the United States, so that no period of adjourn- 
ment be for a longer duration than the space of six 
months, and shall publish the journal of their proceed- 
ings monthly, except such parts thereof relating to 
treaties, alliances or military operations, as in their 
judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of 
the delegates of each State on any question shall be 
entered on the journal, when it is desired by any dele- 
gate ; and the delegates of a State, or any of them, at 
his or their request shall be furnished with a transcript 
of the said journal, except such parts as are above 
excepted, to lay before the Legislatures of the several 
States. 

Article X. The committee of the States, or any nine 
of them, shall be authorized to execute, in the recess of 
Congress, such of the powers of Congress as the United 
States in Congress assembled, by the consent of nine 
States, shall from time to time think expedient to vest 
them with ; provided that no power be delegated to the 
said committee, for the exercise of which, by the articles 
of confederation, the voice of nine States in the Congress 
of the United States assembled is requisite. 

Article XI. Canada acceding to this confederation, 
and joining in the measures of the United States, shall 
be admitted into, and entitled to all the advantages of 
this Union : but no other colony shall be admitted into 



186 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

the same, unless such admission be agreed to by nine 
States. 

Article XII. All bills of credit emitted, monies bor- 
rowed and debts contracted by, or under the authority 
of Congress, before the assembling of the United States, 
in pursuance of the present confederation, shall be deemed 
and considered as a charge against the United States, for 
payment and satisfaction whereof the said United States, 
and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged. 

Article XIII. Every State shall abide by the deter- 
minations of the United States in Congress assembled, on 
all questions which by this confederation are submitted 
to them. And the articles of this confederation shall be 
inviolably observed by every State, and the Union shall 
be perpetual ; nor shall any alteration at any time here- 
after be made in any of them ; unless such alteration be 
agreed to in a Congress of the United States, and be after- 
wards confirmed by the Legislatures of every State. 

And whereas it has pleased the Great Governor of the 
world to incline the hearts of the Legislatures we respec- 
tively represent in Congress, to approve of, and to author- 
ize us to ratify the said articles of confederation and 
perpetual union. Know ye that we the undersigned 
delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to us 
given for that purpose, do by these presents, in the 
name and in behalf of our respective constituents, fully 
and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the 
said articles of confederation and perpetual union, and 
all and singular the matters and things therein contained : 
and we do further solemnly plight and engage the faith 
of our respective constituents, that they shall abide by 
the determinations of the United States in Congress as- 
sembled, on all questions, which by the said confedera- 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION, 187 

tion are submitted to them. And that the articles thereof 
shall be inviolably observed by the States we respectively 
represent, and that the Union shall be perpetual. 

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in 
Congress. Done at Philadelphia in the State of Penn- 
sylvania the ninth day of July in the year of our Lord 
one thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight, and in 
the third year of the independence of America. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 
OF AMERICA.* 

The Preamble. 

" We, the People of the United States, in order to form 
a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic 
tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the 
general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to our- 
selves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Con- 
stitution for the United States of America." 

Article I. 

THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section I. — The Congress in general. 
" All legislative powers herein granted, shall be vested 
in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of 
a Senate and House of Representatives." 

Section II. — The House of Representatives. 

1. "The House of Representatives shall be composed 
of members chosen every second year by the people of the 
several States, and the electors in each State shall have 
the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numer- 
ous branch of the State legislature." 

2. " No person shall be a Representative, who shall not 
have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven 

* The Articles of Confederation proved by experience inadequate to 
the wants of the people of the United States, and they were supplanted 
by the Constitution. 

" The American Constitution, with its manifest defects, still remains 
one of the most abiding monuments of human wisdom, and it has re- 
ceived a tribute to its general excellence such as no other political sys- 
tem was ever honored with." — Freeman. 
188 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 189 

years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, 
when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he 
shall be chosen." 

3. " Representatives and direct taxes shall be appor- 
tioned among the several States which may be included 
within this Union, according to their respective numbers, 
which shall be determined by adding to the whole num- 
ber of free persons, including those bound to service for a 
term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths 
of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be 
made within three years after the first meeting of the Con- 
gress of the United States, and within every subsequent 
term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law 
direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed 
one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have 
at least one Representative ; and until such enumeration 
shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be en- 
titled to. choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island 
and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New 
York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware 
one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South 
Carolina five, and Georgia three." 

4. " When vacancies happen in the representation from 
any State, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs 
of election to fill such vacancies." 

5. "The House of Representatives shall choose their 
Speaker and other officers ; and shall have the sole power 
of impeachment." 

Section III.— The Senate. 

1. " The Senate of the United States shall be composed 
of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legisla- 
ture thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have 
one vote." 

2. " Immediately after they shall be assembled, in con- 
sequence of the first election, they shall be divided as 



190 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

equally as may be, into three classes. The seats of the 
Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expira- 
tion of the second year ; of the second class, at the expi- 
ration of the fourth year ; and of the third class, at the 
expiration of the sixth year; so that one-third may be 
chosen every second year ; and if vacancies happen by 
resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the legisla- 
ture of any State, the executive thereof may make tempo- 
rary appointments until the next meeting of the legisla- 
ture, which shall then fill such vacancies." 

3. " No person shall be a Senator w r ho shall not have 
attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a 
citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when 
elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall 
be chosen." 

4. " The Vice-President of the United States shall be 
President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless 
they be equally divided." 

5. "The Senate shall choose their other officers, and 
also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice- 
President, or when he shall exercise the office of President 
of the United States." 

6. " The Senate shall have the sole power to try all im- 
peachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be 
on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United 
States is tried, the Chief-Justice shall preside ; and no per- 
son shall be convicted without the concurrence of two- 
thirds of the members present." 

7. " Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend 
further than to removal from office, and disqualification 
to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit, un- 
der the United States ; but the party convicted shall, never- 
theless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, 
and punishment, according to law." 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 191 

Section IV.— Both Houses. 

1. "The times, places, and manner, of holding elections 
for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in 
each State by the Legislature thereof: but the Congress 
may at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, 
except as to the places of choosing Senators." 

2. " The Congress shall assemble at least once in every 
year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in 
December, unless they shall by law appoint a different 
day." 

Section V.— The Houses Separately. 

1. " Each House shall be the judge of the elections, re- 
turns, and qualifications of its own members, and a major- 
ity of each shall constitute a quorum to do business ; but 
a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may 
be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, 
in such manner, and under such penalties, as each House 
may provide." 

2. " Each House may determine the rules of its pro- 
ceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, 
with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member." 

3. " Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, 
and, from time to time, publish the same., excepting such 
parts as may, in their judgment, require secrecy ; and the 
yeas and nays of the members of either House, on any 
question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, 
be entered on the journal." 

4. " Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, 
without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than 
three days, nor to any other place than that in which the 
two Houses shall be sitting." 

Section VI. — Privileges and Disabilities of Mem- 
bers. 

1. "The Senators and Representatives shall receive a 
compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, 



192 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They 
shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the 
peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at 
the session of their respective Houses, and in going to, and 
returning from, the same ; and for any speech or debate 
in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other 
place." 

2. "No Senator or Representative shall, during the time 
for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office 
under the authority of the United States, which shall have 
been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been 
increased, during such time ; and no person, holding any 
office under the United States, shall be a member of either 
House during his continuance in office." 

Section VII.— Mode of Passing Laws. 

1. "All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
House of Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or 
concur with amendments, as on other bills." 

2. " Every bill which shall have passed the House of 
Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a 
law, be presented to the President of the United States ; 
if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it, 
with his objections, to that House in which it shall have 
originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their 
journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such recon- 
sideration, two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the 
bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the 
other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, 
and, if approved by two-thirds of that House, it shall be- 
come a law. But in all such cases the votes of both 
Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the 
names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall 
be entered on the journal of each House, respectively. If 
any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten 
days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 193 

to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he 
had signed it, unless the Congress, by their adjournment, 
prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law." 
3. " Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the con- 
currence of the Senate and House of Representatives may 
be necessary (except on a case of adjournment), shall be 
presented to the President of the United States ; and before 
the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or, 
being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to 
the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill." 



Section VIII.— Powers Granted to Congress. 

1. "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect 
taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and 
provide for the common defence and general welfare of the 
United States ; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be 
uniform throughout the United States." 

2. "To borrow money on the credit of the United 
States." 

3. " To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and 
among the several States, and with the Indian tribes." 

4. "To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and 
uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies, throughout 
the United States." 

5. "To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of 
foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and meas- 
ures." 

6. "To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the 
securities and current coin of the United States." 

7. " To establish post-offices and post-roads." 

8. " To promote the progress of science and useful arts, 
by securing, for limited times, to authors and inventors, 
the exclusive right to their respective writings and dis- 



coveries." 



13 \ 



194 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

9. " To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme 
Court.' 7 

10. " To define and punish piracies and felonies com- 
mitted on the high seas, and offences against the law of 
nations." 

11. "To declare war, grant letters of marque and re- 
prisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and 
water." 

12. "To raise and support armies; but no appropria- 
tion of money to that use shall be for a longer term than 
two years." 

13. " To provide and maintain a navy." 

14. " To make rules for the government and regulation 
of the land and naval forces." 

15. " To provide for calling forth the militia to execute 
the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel 
invasions." 

16." To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining 
the militia, and for governing such part of them as may 
be employed in the service of the United States ; reserving 
to the States respectively, the appointment of the officers, 
and the authority of training the militia, according to the 
discipline prescribed by Congress." 

IT. " To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases what- 
soever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square), 
as may, by cession of particular States, and the acceptance 
of Congress, become the seat of the Government of the 
United States, and to exercise like authority over all 
places, purchased by the consent of the legislature of the 
State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, 
magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful build- 
ings," and 

18. "To make all laws which shall be necessary and 
proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, 
and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 195 

Government of the United States, or in any department 
or officer thereof." 



Section IX.— Powers Denied to the United States. 

1. "The migration or importation of such persons, as 
any of the States, now existing, shall think proper to ad- 
mit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress, prior to the 
year one thousand eight hundred and eight ; but a tax or 
duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding 
ten dollars for each person." 

2. " The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not 
be suspended unless when, in cases of rebellion or inva- 
sion, the public safety may require it." 

3. " No bill of attainder, or ex post facto law, shall be 
passed." 

4. " No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, un- 
less in proportion to the census or enumeration, herein be* 
fore directed to be taken." 

5. " No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported 
from any State." 

6. " No preference shall be given by any regulation of 
commerce or revenue, to the ports of one State over those 
of another ; nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one State, 
be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties, in another." 

7. " No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but 
in consequence of appropriations made by law ; and a reg- 
ular statement and account of the receipts and expendi- 
tures of all public money shall be published, from time to 
time." 

8. " No title of nobility shall be granted by the United 
States : and no person, holding any office of profit or trust 
under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, ac- 
cept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind 
whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state." 



196 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

Section X. — Powers Denied to the States. 

1. "No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or 
confederation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin 
money ; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and 
silver coin a tender in payment of debts, pass any bill of 
attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation 
of contracts, or grant any title of nobility." 

2. " No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, 
lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except 
what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspec- 
tion laws ; and the net produce of all duties and imposts, 
laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the 
use of the treasury of the United States ; and all such laws 
shall be subject to the revision and control of the Con- 
gress." 

3. " No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay 
any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war, in time 
of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another 
State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless 
actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not 
admit of delay." 

Article II. 

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
Section I.— President and Vice-President. 

1 . " The Executive power shall be vested in a President 
of the United States of America. He shall hold his office 
during the term of four years, and together with the Vice- 
President, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows:" 

2. "Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the 
Legislature thereof may direct, a number of Electors, equal 
to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to 
which the State may be entitled in the Congress : but no 
Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 197 

trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed 
an Elector." 

3.* " The Electors shall meet in their respective States, 
and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one, at least, 
shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with them- 
selves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted 
for, and of the number of votes for each ; which list they 
sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of the 
Government of the United States, directed to the President 
of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the 
presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open 
all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. 
The person having the greatest number of votes shall be 
the President, if such number be a majority of the whole 
number of Electors appointed ; and if there be more than 
one who have such a majority, and have an equal number 

* This clause has been amended and superseded by the Twelfth Amend- 
ment to the Constitution. By the provisions of the original clause the 
person in the electoral college having the greatest number of votes (pro- 
vided he had a majority of the whole number of electors appointed) be- 
came President, and the person having the next greatest number of 
votes became Vice-President, thus giving the Presidency to one polit- 
cal party and the Vice-Presidency to another. In the year 1800 the 
Democratic Eepublicans determined to elect Thomas Jefferson President 
and Aaron Burr Vice-President. The result was that each secured an 
equal number of votes, and neither was elected. The Constitution then, 
as now, provided that in case the electoral college failed to elect a 
President, the House of Representatives, voting as States, should elect. 
The Federalists distrusted and disliked Jefferson ; the Democratic Re- 
publicans and some of the Federalists distrusted and disliked Burr. 
The vote in the House on the thirty-sixth ballot gave the Presidency to 
Jefferson and the Vice-Presidency to Burr. In order to prevent a repe- 
tition of so dangerous a struggle, the Twelfth Amendment, by which the 
electoral votes are cast separately for the candidates for President and 
for Vice-President, was proposed by Congress Dec. 12, 1803, and de- 
clared in force Sept. 25, 1804. Since that time the electoral college has 
been constituted as at present, with an odd number of votes, and a tie 
vote in the college is impossible. 



198 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immedi- 
ately choose, by ballot, one of them for President; and if 
no person have a majority, then, from the five highest on 
the list, the said House shall, in like manner, choose the 
President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall 
be taken by States, the representation from each State 
having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist 
of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, 
and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a 
choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, 
the person having the greatest number of votes of the Elec- 
tors shall be the Vice-President. But if there should re- 
main two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall 
choose from them, by ballot, the Vice-President." 

4. " The Congress may determine the time of choosing 
the Electors, and the day on which they shall give their 
votes ; which day shall be the same throughout the United 
States." 

5. "No person, except a natural-born citizen, or a citi- 
zen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this 
Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; 
neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall 
not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been 
fourteen years a resident within the United States." 

6. " In case of the removal of the President from office, 
or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the 
powers and duties of the said office, the same shall de- 
volve on the Vice-President, and the Congress may by law 
provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or in- 
ability both of the President and Vice-President, declaring 
what officer shall then act as President, and such officer 
shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a 
President shall be elected." 

7. " The President shall, at stated times, receive for his 
services, a compensation, which shall neither be increased 
nor diminished during the period for which he shall have 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 199 

been elected, and he shall not receive within that period, 
any other emolument from the United States, or any of 
them.'" 

8. " Before he enter on the execution of his office, he 
shall take the following oath or affirmation : ' I do solemnly 
swear (or affirm), that I will faithfully execute the office 
of President of the United States, and will, to the best of 
my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution 
of the United States.' " 

Section II. — Powers of the President. 

1. "The President shall be commander-in-chief of the 
army and navy of the United States, and of the militia 
of the several States, when called into the actual service 
of the United States ; he may require the opinion, in writ- 
ing, of the principal officer in each of the executive depart- 
ments, upon ajiy subject relating to the duties of their 
respective offices, and he shall have power to grant re- 
prieves and pardons for offences against the United States, 
except in cases of impeachment." 

2. " He shall have power, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds 
of the Senators present concur ; and he shall nominate, 
and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers, and 
consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers 
of the United States, whose appointments are not herein 
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by 
law : but the Congress may by law vest the appointment 
of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the Pres- 
ident alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of 
Departments." 

3. " The President shall have power to fill up all vacan- 
cies that may happen, during the recess of the Senate, by 
granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of 
their next session." 



200 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

Section III.— Duties of the President. 

" He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress infor- 
mation of the state of the Union, and recommend to their 
consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary 
and expedient ; he may, on extraordinary occasions, con- 
vene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of dis- 
agreement between them, with respect to the time of 
adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he 
shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and 
other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws 
be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the 
officers of the United States." 

Section IV. — Impeachment of the President. 

" The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of 
the United States, shall be removed from office, on impeach- 
ment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high 
crimes and misdemeanors." 

Artice IIL 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

Section I. — United States Courts. 

" The judicial power of the United States shall be vested 
in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the 
Congress may, from time to time, ordain and establish. 
The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall 
hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated 
times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall 
not be diminished during their continuance in office." 

Section II.— Jurisdiction of the United States 
Courts. 

1. "The Judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law 
and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the 



THE CONSTITUTION OP THE UNITED STATES. 201 

United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under their authority ; to all cases affecting ambassadors, 
other public ministers, and consuls ; to all cases of admir- 
alty and maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies to which 
the United States shall be a party; to controversies be- 
tween two or more States, between a State and citizens of 
another State, between citizens of different States, between 
citizens of the same State, claiming lands under grants of 
different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, 
and foreign States, citizens, or subjects." 

2. a In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public 
ministers, and consuls, and those in which a State shall 
be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdic- 
tion. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme 
Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and 
fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations, as 
the Congress shall make." 

3. " The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeach- 
ment, shall be by jury ; and such trial shall be held in the 
State where the said crimes shall have been, committed ; 
but when not committed within any State, the trial shall 
be at such place, or places, as the Congress may by law 
have directed." 

Section III. — Treason. 

1. " Treason against the United States shall consist only 
in levying war against them, or in adhering to their ene- 
mies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be 
convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two wit- 
nesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open 
court." 

2. " The Congress shall have power to declare the pun- 
ishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work 
corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of 
the person attainted." 



202 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

Article IV, 

Section I. — State Records. 

" Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the 
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other 
State. And the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe 
the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings 
shall be proved and the effect thereof." 

Section II. — Privileges of Citizens. 

1. "The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all 
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States." 

2. " A person charged in any State with treason, felony, 
or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found 
in another State, shall, on demand of the executive author- 
ity of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be 
removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime." 

3. " No person held to service or labor in one State, 
under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in 
consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged 
from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on 
claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be 
due." 

Section III.— New States and Territories. 

1. "New States may be admitted by the Congress into 
this Union ; but no new State shall be formed, or erected, 
within the jurisdiction of any other State ; nor any State 
be formed, by the junction of two or more States, or parts 
of States, without the consent of the legislatures of the 
States concerned, as well as of the Congress." 

2. " The Congress shall have power to dispose of and 
make all needful r^les and regulations respecting the ter- 
ritory, or other pr^nerty, belonging to the United States ; 
and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as 
to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any 
particular State." 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 203 

Section IV.— Guarantee to the States. 

" The United States shall guaranty to every State in this 
Union a republican form of government, and shall protect 
each of them against invasion ; and, on application of the 
legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot 
be convened), against domestic violence.'' 

Article V. 

POWER OF AMENDMENT. 

"The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses 
shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this 
Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of 
two-thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for 
proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be 
valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitu- 
tion, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of 
the several States, or by conventions in three-fourths there- 
of, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be pro- 
posed by the Congress ; Provided, that no amendment, 
which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight 
hundred and eight, shall, in any manner, affect the first 
and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article ; 
and that no Stale, without its consent, shall be deprived 
of its equal suffrage in the Senate." 

Article VI. 

PUBLIC DEBT, SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTI- 
TUTION, OATH OF OFFICE, RELIGIOUS 
TEST. 

1. " All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, 
before the adoption of this Constitutic. , shall be as valid 
against the United States, under this Constitution, as under 
the Confederation." 



204 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

2. " This Constitution, and the laws of the United States 
which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties 
made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the 
United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ; and 
the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything 
in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary 
notwithstanding." 

3. " The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, 
and the members of the several State legislatures, and all 
executive and judicial officers, both of the United States, 
and of the several States, shall be bound, by oath or affirm- 
ation, to support this Constitution ; but no religious test 
shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or 
public trust under the United States." 

Article VII. 

RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

" The ratification of the Conventions of nine States shall 
be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution be- 
tween the States so ratifying the same." 

Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the 
States present, the seventeenth day of September, in the 
year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty- 
seven, and of the Independence of the United States of 
America the twelfth. 



AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

Articles in Addition to, and Amendment of, the Con- 
stitution of the United States of America * 

Proposed by Congress and ratified by the Legislatures of the 
several States, pursuant to the fifth article of the original 
Constitution. 

Article I. — Freedom of Religion, etc. 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establish- 
ment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, 
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the 
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition 
the Government for a redress of grievances." 

Article II. — Right to Bear Arms. 

" A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security 
of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear 
arms shall not be infringed." 

Article III. — Quartering Soldiers on Citizens. 

" No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any 
house, without the consent of the owner ; nor, in time of 
war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law." 

* More than seven hundred amendments to the Constitution have 
been proposed since it was adopted. Several are usually proposed at 
each session of Congress. 

The first twelve articles of amendment to the Federal Constitution 
were adopted so soon after the original organization of the Government 
under it in 1789 as to justify the statement that they were practically 
contemporaneous with the adoption of the original (Justice Miller, 
U» S, Supreme Court), 

205 



206 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

Article IV.— Search-Warrants. 
" The right of the people to be secure in their persons, 
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches 
and seizures, shall not be violated ; and no warrants shall 
issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirm- 
ation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, 
and the persons or things to be seized." 

Article V.— Trial for Crime, etc. 
" No person shall be held to answer for a capital or other- 
wise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indict- 
ment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land 
or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, 
in time of war, or public danger ; nor shall any person be 
subject, for the same offence, to be twice put in jeopardy 
of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled in any criminal 
case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of 
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor 
shall private property be taken for public use, without just 
compensation." 

Article VI. — Rights of Accused Persons. 
" In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy 
the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury 
of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been 
committed, which district shall have been previously ascer- 
tained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause 
of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses 
against him ; to have compulsory process for obtaining 
witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of 
counsel for his defence." 

Article VII.— Suits at Common Law. 
" In suits at common law, where the value in contro- 
versy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury 
shall be preserved ; and no fact, tried by a jury, shall be 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 207 

otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, 
than according to the rules of the common law." 

Article VIII. — Excessive Bail. 
" Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." 

Article IX. — Rights Retained by the People. 
" The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights 
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained 
by the people." 

Article X.— Reserved Powers of the States. 
" The powers not delegated to the United States by the 
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are re- 
served to the States respectively, or to the people." 

Article XL 
" The judicial power of the United States shall not be 
construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, com- 
menced or prosecuted against one of the United States by 
citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any 
foreign State."* 

Article XII. — Mode of Choosing the President and 
Vice-President. 

1. "The Electors shall meet in their respective States, 
and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one 

* In the case of Chisholm vs. The State of Georgia, the Supreme 
Court decided that under Article III. J 2 of the Constitution a 
private citizen of a State might bring suit against a State other than 
the one of which he was a citizen. This decision, by which a State 
might be brought as defendant before the bar of a Federal court, was 
highly displeasing to the majority of the States in 1794. On the 5th 
of March of that year the Eleventh Amendment was passed by two- 
thirds of both houses of Congress, and declared in force January 8, 1798. 
Practically, the amendment has been the authority for the repudiation 
of debts by several States. 



208 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same 
State with themselves ; they shall name in their ballots 
the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots 
the person voted for as Vice-President ; and they shall 
make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, 
and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the 
number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign, and 
certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of government of 
the United States, directed to the President of the Sen- 
ate ; the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of 
the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the cer- 
tificates, and the votes shall then be counted ; the person 
having the greatest number of votes for President shall be 
the President, if such number be a majority of the whole 
number of Electors appointed ; and if no person have such 
majority, then, from the persons having the highest num- 
bers, not exceeding three, on the list of those voted for as 
President, the House of Representatives shall choose im- 
mediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the 
President, the votes shall be taken by States, the represen- 
tation from each State having one vote; a quorum for 
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from 
two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States 
shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Rep- 
resentatives shall not choose a President, whenever the 
right to choose shall devolve upon them, before the fourth 
day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall 
act as President, and in case of the death, or other consti- 
tutional disability, of the President." 

2. " The person having the greatest number of votes 
as Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of Electors 
appointed ; and if no person have a majority, then, from 
the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall 
choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose 
shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Sen- 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 209 

ators ; a majority of the whole number shall be necessary 
to a choice." 

3. " But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office 
of President, shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of 
the United States." 

Article XIII.— Abolition of Slavery. 

1. "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except 
as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have 
been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States 
or any place subject to their jurisdiction." 

2. " Congress shall have power to enforce this article 
by appropriate legislation." 

Article XIV.— Right of Citizenship, etc. 

1. " All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the 
United States and of the State wherein they reside. No 
State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge 
the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United 
States ; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, 
liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny 
to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection 
of the laws." 

2. " Representatives shall be apportioned among the 
several States according to their respective numbers, count- 
ing the whole number of persons in each State, excluding 
Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any 
election for the choice of Electors for President and Vice- 
President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, 
the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the mem- 
bers of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male 
inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, 
and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, 
except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the 
basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the pro- 

14 



210 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

portion which the number of such male citizens shall bear 
to the whole number of male citizens, twenty-one years of 
age, in such State." 

3. "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in 
Congress, or Elector of President and Vice-President, or hold 
any office, civil or military, under the United States, or 
under any State, who, having previously taken an oath as 
a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, 
or as a member of any State Legislature, or as an execu- 
tive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Con- 
stitution of the United States, shall have engaged in in- 
surrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid 
or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, 
by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such 
disability." 

4. " The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment 
of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insur- 
rection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither 
the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any 
debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebel- 
lion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or 
emancipation of any slave, but all such debts, obligations, 
and claims shall be held illegal and void." 

5. " The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appro- 
priate legislation, the provisions of this article." 

Article XV.— Right of Suffrage. 

1. " The right of citizens of the United States to vote 
shall -not be denied or abridged by the United States, or 
by any State, on account of race, color, or previous con- 
dition of servitude." 

2. " The Congress shall have power to enforce this arti- 
cle by appropriate legislation." 



APPENDIX. 



States and Territories. 



Alabama 

Alaska Territory 

Arizona Territory 

Arkansas 

California 

Colorado 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

District of Columbia- 
Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Indian Territory 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana .'. 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts 

Michigan , 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri ,. 

Montana 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New Hampshire 

New Jersey 

New Mexico Territory 

New York 

North Carolina 

North Dakota 

Ohio 

Oklahoma Territory... 

Oregon .-. 

Pennsylvania 

Ehode Island 

South Carolina 

South Dakota 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah Territory 

Vermont.. 

Virginia 

Washington 

West Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 



XVit,.r.K.tLS.£,JN 1A- 

TIVES IN 


Population, 


Area, Square 


Congress. 


Census 1890. 


Miles. 


9 


1,513,017 


52,250 

577 390 


*1 


59,620 


113,020 


6 


1,128,179 


53,850 


7 


1,208,130 


158,360 


2 


412,198 


103,925 


4 


746,258 


4,990 


1 


168,493 


2,050 




230,392 


70 


2 


391,422 


58,680 


11 


1,837,353 


59,475 


1 


84,385 


84,800 


22 


3,826,351 


56,650 


13 


2,192,404 


36,350 
31,400 
56,025 


11 


1,911,896 


8 


1,427,096 


82,080 


11 


1,858,635 


40,400 


6 


1,118,587 


48,720 


4 


661,086 


33,040 


6 


1,042,390 


12,210 


13 


2,238,943 


8,315 


12 


2,093,889 


58,915 


7 


1,301,826 


83,365 


7 


1,289,600 


46,810 


15 


2,679,184 


69,415 


1 


132,159 


146,080 


6 


1,058,910 


77,510 


1 


45,761 


110,700 


2 


376,530 


9,305 


8 


1,444,933 


7,815 


*1 


153,593 


122,580 


34 


5,997,853 


49,170 


9 


1,617,947 


52,250 


1 


182,719 


70,795 


21 


3,672,316 


41,060 


*1 


61,834 


39,030 


2 


313,767 


96,030 


30 


5,258,014 


45,215 


2 


345,506 


1,250 


7 


1,151,149 


30,570 


2 


328,808 


77,650 


10 


1,767,518 


42,050 


13 


2,235,523 


265,780 


*1 


207,905 


84,970 


2 


332,422 


9,565 


10 


1,655,980 


42,450 


2 


349,390 


69,180 


4 


762,794 


24,780 


10 


1,686,880 


56,040 


1 


60,705 


97,890 



: Delegate. 



211 



212 



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214 APPENDIX. 



THE AUSTRALIAN BALLOT SYSTEM. 

Many States, in order to secure ballot reform, have 
introduced the Australian ballot system. The reforms 
sought are to remove the causes and to overcome the 
effects of intimidation, bribery and repeating at the polls. 
The ballots are printed and distributed by the authority 
of the State. Each ballot presents the entire ticket nom- 
inated : the name of each candidate for office, of whatever 
party, appears on the ballot. A person desiring to vote 
gives his name and residence to the ballot clerk, who, on 
finding the voter's name on the check-list, will admit him 
within the polling-place and hand him a ballot. The 
voter goes alone to the voting-shelf and there unfolds his 
ballot. He then marks with a cross (X) in the square at 
the right of the name of each person for whom he wishes 
to vote. No other mode of marking is allowed, but if the 
voter wishes to cast his ballot for a person whose name is 
not on the printed list, he may add the name, or names, 
at the foot of the ticket, in spaces left for this purpose, and 
then mark the cross (X) after such added names. If the 
voter spoils his ballot in the process of marking it, he may 
have another from the ballot clerk ; but, in the majority 
of the States practising this system, the voter cannot have 
more than two extra ballots, or three in all. No voter can 
remain within the polling-place more than ten minutes, 
and, if the voting-shelves are crowded, not more than five 
minutes. The number of voting-shelves, or voting-booths 
(as they are sometimes called), is sufficient to accommo- 
date the voters in the precinct. Before leaving the voting- 
shelf, the voter folds his ballot in the same manner as it 
was folded when he received it from the clerk, and, keep- 
ing it folded, deposits it in the ballot-box. The voter is 
directed not to show his vote to any person, nor to tell 
how he marked his ticket. When the voter deposits his 



APPENDIX. 215 

ballot in the box he gives his name and residence to the 
officer in charge. No person is allowed to carry away a 
ballot, whether it is spoiled or not. For the assistance 
of blind persons, or persons physically unable to mark 
their ballots, the officers in charge may mark the ballots 
of such persons at their direction. 

Some variations in the minor details of the system 
are to be found, but the general features are the same in 
all the States in which it has been adopted. The essential 
part of the system is that the entire machinery of elec- 
tion is put into the hands of the State, instead of being 
left, as heretofore, to the promiscuous methods of political 
parties* 

* "The Australian system of voting would be an immense power in 
clipping the wings and suppressing the evils of political bossism. Up- 
ward of eighty-five million people conduct their elections in accordance 
with its provisions, so that it is neither an untested experiment nor a 
questionable expedient. Wherever a free and accurate expression of 
opinion is desired it finds a home, so that it cannot be justly claimed as 
the method of any one country or people. 

"The cardinal features of the Australian system are compulsory 
secrecy of voting, uniform official ballots containing the names of all 
candidates printed under State or municipal authority, and official 
equality of nominations when made either by a party convention or 
by a paper signed by a given number of voters ; under this system all 
qualified voters have equal facilities for voting and all candidates have 
equal facilities for receiving votes. 

" The Australian system has produced effects far wider than the mere 
achievement of a single reform. It offers not only free and pure elec- 
tions, but free nominations. It offers a method of nomination that is 
free to all, and it emancipates us from the rule of the political bosses. 
There is abundant testimony that it is the best, the most rapid and the 
most facile mode of obtaining the unbiassed wish of voters. It secures 
tranquillity, purity and freedom of choice. For all these reasons I 
heartily favor it." — Gov. Kobt. E. Pattison. 



QUESTIONS 

DEVELOPING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE 

STATE, COUNTY, TOWNSHIP, TOWN 

OR PARISH, AND CITY.* 



D^O^ 



What is a State ? 

What are the civil divisions of a State ? 

What is a constitution ? 

When was the constitution now in operation in this State adopted? 
How can the constitution of this State be amended ? Has it ever been 
amended ? 

Does the constitution of this State contain a bill of rights ? 

What is an elector ? 

What is the difference between an elector and a citizen ? 

What are the qualifications of an elector in this State ? 

Is an elector in this State required to be a citizen of the United States ? 

Are the local officers, State officers and Federal officers elected on 
the same or on different days ? W T hy ? 

Who is the highest executive officer of this State? When is he 
elected ? For how long a term ? What are his qualifications ? State 
some of his duties. What is his salary ? 

Has this State a lieutenant-governor ? What are his qualifications ? 
When is he elected ? For how long a term ? His duties ? His salary ? 

What are the other executive officers of this State ? How is each 
chosen ? State some of the duties of each. 

Name some of the administrative officers of this State. 

What is the name of the legislative body that makes the laws of this 



* These questions are suggestive only, and are to be modified or ex- 
tended at the discretion of the teacher, so as to develop the methods and 
harmonize the variations and peculiarities in the forms of local govern- 
ment. A copy of the State constitution should always be used in study- 
ing the government of a State. 
216 



APPENDIX. 217 

State ? How many branches has it ? What are their names ? What 
is the term of service in each ? When does this body meet ? Where ? 
How often ? 

How many State senatorial districts are there in this State ? 

In which State senatorial district do you reside ? 

Who is the State senator from this district ? What are his qualifica- 
tions? His term of service? His salary ? 

How many representative or assembly districts are there in this 
State ? In which representative district do you reside ? 

Who is the State representative from this district ? What are his 
qualifications? His term of service ? His salary ? 

How many congressional districts are there in this State ? 

How many representatives has this State in Congress ? 

In which congressional district do you reside ? 

By what authority is the State divided into congressional districts ? 

Who represents this congressional district in Congress ? 

What are the qualifications of a representative ? How is he chosen ? 
For how long a term of service ? What is his salary ? 

How many United States senators has each State ? 

By whom are they chosen ? For how long a term of service ? 
What are the qualifications of a United States senator ? What is his 
salary ? 

What are the names of the different State courts in this State ? 
Which is the highest State court in this State ? What are the titles of 
its judges ? How are they chosen ? What is their term of office ? 

Is this State divided into State judicial districts? 

In which State judicial district do you reside? 

In which United States circuit court district is this State located? 

Where does the United States circuit court for this State meet? 

What justice of the United States Supreme Court presides in this 
circuit ? 

How many United States district courts are there in this State ? 

Who is the resident United States district j udge ? 

When does the United States district court meet ? Where ? 

How are the judges of the United States courts chosen ? 

What other officers besides the judges are connected with the United 
States courts ? What are their duties ? How are they chosen ? 

What are the names of the different county courts in this county ? 

In what courts are civil cases tried ? Criminal cases ? 

In what courts are estates of deceased persons adjudicated? 

What is the tenure of office of the county judges ? 

How are the judges chosen in this county ? 



218 APPENDIX. 

What is the salary of the judges in this county ? 

Where do the courts of this county meet? 

Who is the present county attorney ? How is he chosen ? What is 
his term of service ? What are his duties? His salary? 

Who is the sheriff of this county ? How is he chosen ? What is 
his term of service ? His salary ? What are his duties ? 

What are the other officers of this county ? What are their duties ? 

What are the civil divisions of this county ? What is the title of 
the judicial officer in this township, town or parish ? Of the executive 
officers? Of the legislative officers? Of the administrative officers? 
What are the duties of each ? Which of these officers are required to 
give a bond for the faithful performance of their duties ? Explain the 
nature and operation of a bond. 

What is the title of the chief executive officer of a city ? How is 
he chosen ? What are his duties ? His term of office ? 

Name the other executive and administrative officers of a city. How 
are they chosen ? What are their duties ? Their terms of office ? 

What is the title of the chief legislative body of a city? Of how 
many branches is it composed? 

What are the principal duties of the legislative department of a city ? 

How are the members of the legislative department of a city chosen ? 
Are they paid a salary for their services ? 

What judicial officers are there in a city other than the county 
judges of the county in which the city is located? What are the du- 
ties of these officers ? How are they chosen ? How are they paid for 
their services ? 



PROBLEMS IN CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

If the regular candidate of the political party to which you belong 
were a person inferior in ability, morally and intellectually, to the can- 
didate of the opposing party, which candidate would you vote for, and 
for what reason ? 

A certain town wishes to construct waterworks, but it has no money 
for that purpose. In what two ways may it legally proceed to obtain 
the required funds? Which do you think would be the better? 

At a certain local election there was reason to believe that more 
votes were cast than there were lawful electors in the district* By 
what process would the facts in the case be ascertained, and how would 
the case be settled beyond further dispute ? 

If an elector own land in several States, can he vote in them all ? 
What facts determine his legal residence? 



APPENDIX. 219 

Can a member of Congress at the same time hold a State office, 
according to the Constitution of the United States ? What is the rea- 
son for this ? According to the Constitution of the State in which you 
live ? Is the reason the same ? 

A politician described the civil service as " a system by which it is 
hard to get into an office and easy to get out of it ;" he further said 
that he believed in a civil service " that makes it easy to get into an 
office, but hard to get a man out of the office." Do you think that he 
touched on any principle of popular government that could be made to 
work in practice ? What principle ? 

Do you think that the government of the people of the United States 
would be a more perfect government if there was only one political 
party in the country ? If not, for what reason ? 

In the assessment of real property the owner may complain that he 
is assessed too high ; has he any means of getting the assessment 
changed? If he cannot get it changed, is he justified in refusing to 
pay his taxes ? Why ? 

In the older States many State officers are appointed by the governor 
by and with the consent of the Senate ; in the newer States nearly all 
State officers are elected by the people. How do you explain this 
remarkable difference in the civil government of the States? Which 
do you favor? Why? 

In one of the States in the Union which requires by its Constitution 
that every person before he can vote must be able to read a section of 
the State Constitution, an illiterate man was taught to repeat a section 
from memory, and when his vote was challenged he (apparently) read 
the section, it having been pointed out to him by the person who had 
taught it to him. Was his vote illegal ? Was he guilty of breaking 
the spirit of the law ? Should he be punished? 

Are all citizens of the United States electors ? Is there a difference 
between the meanings of the words " electors," " inhabitants," " resi- 
dents " and " citizens " ? Which of these constitute " the sovereign 
people of the United States " ? 

What principles of our government are illustrated in the following: 
-An election. The inauguration of the President. The levy of a tax. 
The impeachment of a State officer. A jury trial. The support of 
public schools by taxation. The improvement of rivers and harbors 
by and at the expense of the National Government. The privileges 
of a member of the State or of the National legislature. The exist- 
ence of a United States Supreme Court. 



220 APPENDIX. 

QUESTIONS FOR DEBATE. 

Should the President be elected by popular vote ? 

Which affords the more privileges for its citizens — a republic like the 
United States, or a monarchy like England ? 

Can a State repudiate its debts ? 

Is " rotation in office " conducive to the most desirable results in a 
government like our own? 

Would the government of the people of the United States be more 
conducive to their welfare if State legislatures .were abolished and all 
laws were made by Congress? 

Should the National Banking System be abolished ? 

Would the "general welfare" of the United States be promoted by 
an amendment to the Constitution requiring every elector to be able to 
read and write ? 

Which have had the wider influence in this country — the opinions 
of Thomas Jefferson or those of Alexander Hamilton? 

Would Congress be justified at any time in appropriating the sur- 
plus in the national treasury to the payment of the debts of the States? 

Are American politics growing better ? 

Is the Government of the United States to-day essentially the same 
as it was when Washington was President? 

Has the Government of the United States the constitutional right to 
become the owner of the railroad and telegraph lines of the country ? 

Would the general welfare of the people of the United States be pro- 
moted if the National Government should become the owner of the rail- 
road and telegraph lines ? 

Does man's capability for enjoying life increase with the advance of 
civilization ? 

Would the union of the United States and Canada promote the wel- 
fare of the people of these two countries ? 

Does the government of the people of the United States possess the 
power of indefinite self-perpetuation? 

Is the present form of government in the United States the best form 
possible at the present time? 

Upon which does the welfare and the perpetuity of popular govern- 
ment in this country the more depend — upon national legislation or 
upon State legislation? 

Would the Government of the United States be justified in buying 
Cuba, rather than have that island pass into the possession of any other 
power than Spain ? 




[The references are to paragraphs, except when the page is indicated.] 



Access to President, 188, 195. 
Adams, Samuel, 79. 
Administration, 97. 
Agriculture, 15, 206. 
Agriculture, Department of, 206. 
Alabama case, 210. 
Amendments to Constitution of 

United States, p. 205. 
Anarchism, 269. 
Appeal, 217. 
Appellate courts, 219. 
Apportionment, 94, 1 1 2. 
Arbitration, 210. 
Areas of the States, p. 211. 
Aristocracy, 22. 
Arms, right to bear, 164. 
Army, 150. 
Art, 143. 

Articles of Confederation, p. 175. 
Assembly, 94. 
Australian Ballot, p. 214. 

Banks, 238, 239. 

Bankruptcy, 139. 

Barons , war, 54. 

Base line, 225. 

Basis of government, 24. 

Bill, how made into a law by 

Congress, 132. 
Bill of attainder, 157. 
Bill of rights, 62. 
Bonds, 237. 
"By" the; by-law, 42. 



Cabinet, 197. 

Campaign, 82. 

Caucus, 75. 

Charge d'affaires, 199. 

Charter, 55. 

Circuit courts, 219. 

Civil cases, 212. 

Civil institutions, 1, 18, 45, 47. 

Civil rights, 24. 

Civil service, note p. 49. 

Citizen, chap, xv., 268. 

City, 27, 49. 

Coast Survey, 200. 

Coin certificate, 235. 

Coins, 231. 

Colonies, 64, 65, et seq. 

Commerce, 20, 137, 160. 

Committees, 122, 133. 

Commons, 56, 57, 58. 

Communism, 269. 

Confederation, Articles of, p. 175. 

Congress, 109, 128, 134, 154. 

Conquest of Britain, 46. 

Constitution, 38, 98; of United 

States, p. 189. 
Consular service, 199. 
Continental money, p. 135. 
Contract, 172. 

Convention, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81. 
Copyright, 144, 146. 
Corporation, 33. 
Correction lines, 225. 
Counterfeiting, 140. 

221 



222 



INDEX. 



Courts, 96, 147 ; chap, xii., p. 114. 
Credit, 136. 
Crimes, 12, 14. 
Criminal case, 211, 213. 
Custom, 8, 19, 20. 

Declaration of Independence, 

69, p. 169. 
Declaration of Eights, The First, 

p. 167. 
Departments, chap, xi., p. 103. 
De Tocqueville, p. 43. 
Diplomatic service, 199. 
District, 94. 
District courts, 219. 
District of Columbia, 152. 

Election, 87, 89, 178, 181. 
Electoral College, 179. 
Electors, 83. 
Eminent domain, 33. 
Envoys extraordinary, 199. 
Execution, 216. 
Executive, 95 ; chap, x., p. 93. 
Expenditures, 242. 
Ex post facto Jaw, 157. 

Federal judges, 218, 219. 

Felony, 269. 

Feudal system, 52. 

Finance, chap, xiv., p. 133. 

Fines, 169. 

First Declaration of Eights, p. 167. 

Flag, 271. 

Foes of the Nation, 269. 

Fractional currency, 236. 

Franchise, 170. 

Franklin, p. 43. 

Freedom, 163. 

Freemen, 40, 48. 

Fundamental law, p. 9. 

General Assembly, 94. 



Geneva award, 210. 

Geodetic survey, 200. 

Geographical unity, 223. 

Germany, 37, 46. 

Gifts, 162. 

Gladstone, p. 63. 

Government, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 65, 

107. 
Governor, 95. 
Grand jury, 214. 
Guide meridian, 225. 

Habeas Corpus, 61. 

Hamilton, 200. 

Herdsmen, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 

Homesteads, 227. 

Hours of labor, 31. 

House of Eepresentatives, chaps. 

vii., viii., pp. 64, 77. 
Householders, 165. 
Hue and cry, 50. 
Hundred, the, 42. 
Husbandmen, 13. 

Impeachment, 126. 

Inauguration, 185. 

Income, 101. 

Incompatible offices, 270. 

Indian affairs, 203. 

Indictment, 213. 

Individuals and society, 26, 28, 243, 

et seq. 
Industry, 17, 31, 244. 
Inferior courts of United States,219. 
Interior, Department of, 203. 
International copyright, 146. 
Inter-State Commerce Act, p. 110. 
Issues in politics, 258. 

Job, book of, 9. 

John, king of England, 54, 55. 

Joint rules, 123. 



INDEX 



223 



Journal, 124. 

Judgment, 216. 

Judiciary, 96. 

Jury, 51, 168 ; chap, xii., p. 114. 

Justice, 205, 221. 

King John signing Magna Charta, 
p. 30. 

Labor, 10, 16, 31, 97. 
Land, chap, xiii., p. 126. 
Langton, Archbishop, 54. 
Language, 3, 9, 15, 19. 
Laws, 20, 108, 132. 
Legal tender, 233. 
Legislature, 94, 110. 
Liberty, 156, 264. 
Librarian, 97. 
Lieutenant-governor, 97. 
Life-saving service, 200. 
Lincoln, p. 43. 
Local Government, p. 43. 
Longfellow, p. 162. 

Mace, 114. 

Magna Charta, 55. 

Mails, 142. 

Manufacturers, 16, 17. 

Map of Public Domain, p. 126. 

Marshal, United States, 220. 

Mayflower Compact, p. 164. 

Membership of Congress, p 211. 

Meridian in survey, 225. 

Message of President, 192. 

Militia, 151. 

Minister plenipotentiary, 199. 

Minority President, 183. 

Mobs, 263. 

Monarchy, 22. 

Money, 140,231. 

Mulford, p. 63. 

Nation, chap, xvii., p. 157. 



National bank-notes, 234. 
National convention, 78. 
National debt, 240. 
Natural rights, 29. 
Naturalization, 138. 
Navy, 150, 202. 
New States, 153. 
Nihilism, 269. 
Nominating conventions, 76. 

Oath, 115, 120. 
Obligation of contracts, 172. 
Original area of United States, 224. 

Parties in politics, 253, 255. 

Passport, 198. 

Patent, 145. 

Patriarchal government, 7. 

Pensions, 203. 

Personal liberty, 156. 

Personal security, 166. 

Petit jury, 215. 

Petition of right, 59. 

Platforms, 259. 

Politics, 24, 27, 28, 32, 64, 73, 74, 

75, 76, 77 ; chap, xvi., p. 146. 
Polls, 84, 86, 88. 

Population of the States, p. 211. 
Posse comitatus, 50. 
Post-office, 204. 
Powers denied the States, 173. 
Powers of Congress, chaps. vii.,viii., 

ix., pp. 64, 77, 85. 
Powers of United States courts, 218. 
Pre-emption, 228. 
President of the Senate, 121. 
President of the Senate pro tempore, 

121. 
President of the United States, 

chap, x., pp. 93-102. 
Presidents, table of, pp. 212, 213. 
Press, 90. 



224 



INDEX. 



Principal meridian, 225. 

Private property, 167. 

Problems in Civil Government, p. 

218. 
Proportional taxation, 158. 
Punishments, 169. 

Qualifications, 111, 117, 177. 
Questions developing the govern- 
ment of the State, etc., p. 216. 
Questions for debate, p. 220. 

Range lines, 225. 
Reforms, 262. 
Representation, 111, 112. 
Republic, 22, 171. 
Revenue, 131, 241. 
Revolution, 23, 70. 
Rules, 123. 

Sabbath, 34. 

Salaries, 127, 187. 

Savages, 2, 3, 4, 5. 

Saxon ideas, 48. 

School lands, 229. 

Science, 143. 

Seal, 271. 

Secretaries of State, table of, 212. 

Secretary, chap. xi. 

Section of land, 226. 

Senate, 116. 

Sentence, 216. 

Sergeant-at-arms, 114. 

Session, 125. 

Shire, 43. 

Smithsonian Institution, 143. 

Socialism, 269. 

Society, 26, 28, 33, 247. 



Sovereignty, 267. 

Speaker, 114. 

State, 71, 92, etc., 174, 175, chap. vi. 

Statue of Liberty, 163. 

Suffrage, 83, et seq. 

Supreme Court, 218. 

Supreme law, 98. 

Supreme power of Congress, 154. 

Table of Presidents, p. 212. 
Table of Secretaries of State, p. 212. 
Table of Vice-Presidents, p. 212. 
Tax, 51, 53, 68, 100, 135, 158. 
Territory, 105, 106, 153. 
Theocracy, 22. 
Title, 130, 162. 
Tools, 15, 16. 
Town, township, 9, 39, 40 ; note, p. 

61 ; 225. 
Town-meeting, 91. 
Trade, 67, 159. 
Treasury, 200, 233. 

Vacancies, 113, 118. 
Veto, p. 75. 
Vice-President, 182. 
Vice-Presidents, Table of, 212. 
Voting, 83, 85, 88, 180. 

War, 149, 201. 
Washington, President, p. 63. 
Wealth, 6, 16, 20. 
Weather Bureau, 206. 
Weights and Measures, 141. 
White House, 186. 
Whittier, p. 43. 




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some of the best of Modern Text-Boohs, and shall be glad at any time 
to make liberal arrangements for their introduction, or to exchange for 
others that do not give satisfaction. Please address 

Eldredge & Brother, 

17 North Seventh Street, 

PHILADELPHIA. 
6 




